


The Perils of Living

by Child_of_Scorn



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Noir, Dialogue, End of the World, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 12:05:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 61,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9725580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Child_of_Scorn/pseuds/Child_of_Scorn
Summary: Niall, Rob, and Julietta are unassuming couriers, running jobs for the Pokémon Professors in the region. That is, until they're tasked with a special delivery and get caught up in something they don't understand. With a shadowy organization following them, bent on doing whatever it takes to obtain what they carry, they'll have to rely on each other and on the strength of their Pokémon to keep them alive.That's harder than it sounds when everyone's got secrets - especially when some of those secrets could tear apart the fragile camaraderie that Niall, Rob, and Julietta have come to depend upon. Turns out the past never stays buried, and the future's never set in stone.





	1. 1

“Don’t you think,” I said, “there was something strange about that Joy?”

I dropped my hand from Rapidash’s cheek and turned to Rob, who sat on the ground unrolling his sleeping mat.

Rapidash snorted at me and I went back to scratching her behind the ear.

“What do you mean?” 

Rob doesn’t notice much about the Sisters aside from the bust size. 

“She was kinda…glitchy.”

“She seemed normal to me.”

“You’re hardly a reliable source.” Rapidash nuzzled my side, probing for treats.“Sorry, you ate everything. No apples until we hit Pallet Town.”

“Any idea why we have to go back there?” Rob stretched out and leaned against his pack.

“Aurea wouldn’t say.Wanted to meet in person.” 

“Ehhh. Don’t you ever get sick of the Professor?”

“I owe her,” I said, looking up at the stars. “For a lot of things. You know that. I thought you liked her.”

“Of course I do, but sometimes I dream of being more than an errand boy.” He sighed. “Even so, nothing wrong with money.”

I snorted in agreement.Money was one thing we could always use more of.Rob, especially. He was usually level-headed, but most of what he earned from our inconsistent contracts was spent immediately.Food was always the biggest drain, but Rob keeps a pretty nice apartment back in Ecruteak City, and he drinks more than I do, which is saying something – and when Rob drinks, he gets generous.Get generous, and you’re asking for folks to take advantage of you.He doesn’t seem to mind much, especially when he gets to spend his time with pretty ladies. Even if they’re clones. But who am I to judge? You want to lust after a genetically-engineered peacekeeper, I’m not gonna stand in your way.

We were all hoping that Aurea had something good - or at least something that paid well.Work was slow, and our Pokémon were looking lean. Back when I was growing up, we all used to dream about running massive teams – you know, gotta catch ‘em all– but the TV doesn’t tell you how much it costs to run a healthy team of even six. A lot, that’s how much. Food isn’t free, and when you’re out in the field, trust is worth more than your ‘Dex count – and trust is hard to split in a team bigger than you can carry. A lot of folks make the mistake of thinking the monsters are just that – dumb animals – and there’s an equal number of folks who’ve found that mistake to be fatal, in one way or another.

“When are you gonna tell that horse how you really feel?” Rob jerked me back into awareness and I tossed my canteen at his head. He caught it, and drank.

“Sorry. Just thinking.”

“Been a while since we’ve been back there.”

“Yeah.”

“I bet nothing’s changed.”

“Nothing ever changes there.”

Julietta poked her head out of her sleeping sack.

“Are you two going to let me sleep?”

“Sorry,” I said, and Rob grunted.

“I, for one, will be happy to lie down in a bed,” said Julietta. “And to not have to listen to you idiots yap all night. It’s bad enough that I have to use a log as a pillow.”

Rob laughed. “Oh, come on. What would you do without us?” 

“Sleep more,” she said, turning over again. 

I gave Rapidash one last pat on the muzzle and sat down next to the fire. She whinnied, and I raised my hands in apology. She’s happier out of stasis, so most nights I leave her free. 

“Jules, you really think you’d be happier back in Cerulean without us?”

“’Course I would,” she said, and I smiled. Julietta is as prickly as her Gengar, but we all know it’s an act. The three of us have been together for two years now, running jobs for a lot of the Pokémon professors in the region – transport, usually; sometimes something a bit more delicate. Nothing illegal, strictly speaking, but we’re known for being unassuming.

We work well together. I met Rob as a teen, back when we were in the Academy together, and we’ve more or less stuck together since. Julietta started out as a traveling companion who we picked up in Cerulean City, and two years later she’s as much a part of the team as anyone. Never told us why she was so desperate to leave Cerulean, and we’ve never prodded. I think she’s got family there, so that’s probably part of it. Secrets come with the territory, and I’ve got my fair share.

The heat from the fire was pleasant. Autumn was well established, and it wouldn’t be long before we had our first taste of winter. We had made it over the pass and into Pewter City just in time, but it would be snowing already in the North. We’d been up there only once before, a little over a year ago - running potions through Sinnoh and into a small town at the base of Mount Coronet. A small job (we were broke), but we got caught unprepared in an early blizzard. My fire-types kept us warm enough, but it was Jules’ psychic barriers that really saved us. Even Rob was impressed, and he’s a tough sell. We had thought she was something of a pushover; a little girl running from a broken home, maybe – but she was training some high-level shit, and Espeons, let alone Gengar, aren’t known for being agreeable. 

Rob sat up and tossed the canteen back at me. It fell short, skidding in the dirt in front of where I sat.

“We could always pass on the job.” Rob has an uncanny way of reading my mind.

“I thought you never turned down money.”

“Money isn’t everything,” he said, and shrugged. I laughed.

“What would your admirers say if you denied them gifts?”

“I’ve got enough natural charm to carry me through.”

“It’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re staying long. Besides, I haven’t been back in ages.”

“Your mother will be happy to see you.”

I frowned.

“Did you tell her you were headed back?”

I shook my head once. Rob sighed, leaned back again.

“You going to?”

“Seriously,” said Julietta from somewhere inside her bag, “Will you two shut up?” I threw the canteen at her, and was rewarded with a curse. Julietta sat up, glaring at me. 

“Does Gengar need to make an appearance?” Gengar’s hypnosis has come in useful in the past, and not all of Julietta’s threats are empty.

“Sorry, sorry,” I said, and Julietta lay back down with a huff.

We were silent for a while. Then Julietta’s voice crept over the campfire. “You should tell her. Family’s important.”

I didn’t answer, but instead thought back to the glitchy Joy in Pewter City, whom we had met after scrambling down out of the mountains into Kanto. I don’t usually take notice of the Sisters’ engineered personalities, but some things I can’t ignore. She kept repeating herself, asking who we were and where we had come from in that upbeat, smiling voice that they all have. Seemed that Rob and Julietta had been too busy restocking to notice.

The Jennies and the Joys were useful; there was no denying that. They were largely the reason we’d enjoyed such a long period of peace, but I’ve never been all that comfortable around the Sisters. Some people worship them – Rob being one example – but their beauty’s a tool and that makes me worry.That’s not to say they’ve ever been anything less than perfectly wonderful to me, just as they’re meant to, but I suppose I can’t help myself.

I rolled my sleeping sack out on top of my mat and crawled into it. The night was quiet, the stars were out, and the crisp air felt wonderful. Even so, I couldn’t sleep. The thought of going home bothered me. I hadn’t spoken to my mother in two years. I shivered and drove the thought from my mind. We were still days from Pallet Town, and there’d be time to think about it in the morning. 

A Noctowl hooted somewhere in the woods. We had made it to the outskirts of Viridian Forest, and the trees cast long shadows in the moonlight. I rolled over. Rob was still leaning against his pack, the firelight playing across his face. He had no reason to avoid Pallet Town. We’d been there before, together, and he’d even met my mother. He liked Professor Ventus too; I knew that – even if he liked to complain about her. I liked her too, and I did owe her. So, when she said she had work for us, it wasn’t really an offer I could refuse. I like to repay my debts.

No, Rob was just looking out for me. He does that, and I try to do it for him. We’ve had our disagreements, but we’ve been friends for a long time and that wouldn’t be the case if we had anything against one another. Really, it said something about Julietta that she had fit in with the two of us so easily. We weren’t an easy pair to approach – “Lazy, cynical drunkards,” Aurea had called us once (Rob was the lazy one, while I provided the cynicism; the two of us being more or less equivalent in drunkenness) – but Julietta was the type to hold her own anywhere, and we respected that. Rob and I are friendly enough, and when she asked if she could accompany us on our way through Sinnoh we didn’t need a lot of convincing. Rob can’t turn down a pretty face, and I was glad for the company. It helped that her team complemented ours, and that she was a talented trainer – as we learned later. It takes a strong will to use ghost- and psychic-types. 

On top of that, she had a kind of link with her pokemon that I’d never seen before. They could communicate without speaking – not just her and her Alakazam, no; all of her pokemon shared some kind of psychic space with her.It was unnerving at first, but we got used to it before long - jealous, too. Came with the pokemon, I guess - can’t ever put your finger on the psychic trainers.

I had it pretty good. I didn’t mind being broke half the time. I had enough to get by. I liked my freedom, and you don’t have to pay to sleep under the stars. I had a couple of close friends, a strong team, and Pokémon I trusted. Rob had asked if I dreamed of being more than an errand boy, but that’s not how I thought of myself. Freelancer, I’d have said, with many interests. Sure, I had some lingering family issues, but who doesn’t? 

Sometimes the night makes everything seem so simple, and it was with a smile on my face that I drifted off to sleep. 

***

The next morning was beautiful. Golden light filtered down between the boughs of the trees, and we could see our breath in the air. I shivered after giving up the warmth of my sleeping bag, but once I had packed it and my mat away I was comfortably warm in the autumn sun. Julietta got a fire going and started a pot of coffee with the water from one of her canteens.

“Coffee?” I said, surprised. Julietta’s not usually one to hang around in the mornings.

“Not like we’re in a rush,” she said, “and it makes me feel human. You don’t need to drink it.”

I tossed her my battered metal mug, and she obliged me by filling it. Her Espeon was curled around her feet, looking at me with its odd purple eyes. Espeon was like Rapidash, and favored walking with us. The three of us were different from most trainers, and I suppose our Pokémon were different as well.Most of them preferred the open air to stasis, Rob’s team being the exception. Steel- and ground-types are stubborn, and Rob’s happened to like being carried. His Skarmory preferred the skies, though, and I could see her wheeling overhead, feathers glinting in the sun, as I wandered over to where Rapidash grazed beneath a tree. 

She looked up as I approached and whinnied a hello. I stroked her neck, the flames tickling my hand. Rapidash has burned me before, especially when she was still a Ponyta and we were just getting to know each other. But I’ve had her longer than any of my Pokémon, and she’s as close a friend as Rob or Julietta. 

I released Ninetales, and he raised his head and yawned at me before trotting over to sniff Rapidash’s nose. She sniffed him back and, greeting completed, Ninetales made his way to the campfire where Rob was getting breakfast ready. I’ve known Ninetales since he was a kit, and we run pretty deep. For that matter, all of my pokemon are pretty tightly knit. They’re fire-types, mostly.Rob carries a steel and ground team, and Julietta trains ghost- and psychic-types, which is pretty rare.She’s also got a Houndoom, which she released Ninetales snuffled over to her. 

I had been worried the first time Julietta told us she had a Houndoom, since they’re notoriously territorial and I wasn’t sure how it would get on with Ninetales, but ever since they met, the fox and the hound have been as thick as thieves.Even as I watched, the two of them bounded off into the forest to hunt for breakfast.

Some trainers try to divide their focus between huge type variations, which sound great on paper and can work well in the officially sanctioned tourneys, but most people tend to stick with types they know. That’s what the three of us do. It’s an instinctual thing. Rob’s a solid guy, and he uses solid Pokémon. Julietta’s as slick as her Espeon, and me – well, I don’t know what I am.I’ve always been drawn to the arcane, and fire’s nothing if not arcane – and unpredictable. We were lucky that our teams got on so well with each other. 

I walked back to the fire. Rob had a pot of porridge going, and handed me a bowl without a word. I sat down next to Julietta and scratched Espeon behind the ears. She arched her neck into my hand and blinked once in appreciation.

“Sleep well?” I asked the group at large.

Julietta arched her own back, mirroring Espeon.

“After you two stopped talking, yeah.”

“Forgive us,” Rob said. “But I guess can’t blame you. You certainly need the beauty sleep.”

Julietta chucked her empty bowl at his head while he laughed. She was smiling, though.

“You’re one to talk,” she said, “Sandslash could hide in those canyons under your eyes.”

“Hey, you leave Sandslash alone,” Rob said. “And he’d never go along with your insults.” He picked her bowl up off the ground and filled it with porridge before passing it back to her. Rob’s Sandslash was easily the laziest Pokémon in our little group, and also the most easy-going. I lay back onto the dewy grass and stretched my arms above my head.

“What a morning,” I said, looking up at the sky. Julietta held a canteen out to me, and I sat up again to drink from it.

“We’ll need to fill up soon,” I said. Thankfully, plenty of streams crisscrossed Viridian Forest, and finding water wouldn’t be a problem.

Julietta nodded. “You might as well let Braviary out while we’re in the forest,” she said. “Good hunting here, especially for the birds.”

I reached down to my belt and tossed a Pokéball away from the camp. It burst open, and Braviary emerged, ruffling his feathers. He cocked his head at me, and I pointed skywards. 

“Skarmory’s already up there,” I said. “I’m sure she’s a kill ahead of you already.” The two huge birds enjoyed a friendly rivalry, and Braviary beat his massive wings eagerly and hurled himself into the sky. I watched him circle upwards before returning my attention to the bowl of porridge in front of me.

“I’ll leave Dragonair in for now,” I said around a spoonful of oats. “She’s still tired.” The fourth member of my team, Dragonair, had been put through her paces by an angry Heatmor as we came down from the mountains. 

Julietta kept most of her own team in stasis. Gengar and Chandelure didn’t like the sun, and Alakazam preferred to meditate – or whatever the hell it was he did inside his pokeball. Houndoom and Espeon enjoyed the outdoors, and they were able scouts. Seeing a Houndoom was usually enough to discourage unfriendly visitors, which granted aren’t common in Viridian Forest, but we had been glad to have him as a guard dog as we made our way through the lonelier parts of the mountains. Ice Pokémon, which can be dangerous, generally avoid fire-types if they can help it, and with Ninetales, Rapidash and Houndoom filling the camp with flame and running interference for us, we hadn’t seen a single wild Pokémon before we came out of the high passes and into the foothills - where we’d stumbled upon a Heatmor burrow.

Julietta got to her feet and tossed the dregs of her coffee onto the ground. I watched her stretch again out of the corner of my eye before standing and tucking my own bowl into my pack. Rob kicked the fire out, and we hefted our bags. Rapidash trotted over to us, and I whistled. Out in the forest, I heard an answering yip from Ninetales. He and Houndoom would follow us in their own time, once they’d fed, as would Skarmory and Braviary, who were soaring somewhere high above us.

Julietta had the map, and I was humming as we left the camp and headed deeper into the forest. A lot of folks skirt around the edge of the woods to get to Viridian City. It’s easy to get lost in its depths, and even if it’s not a particularly dangerous place, you can’t let your guard down around bug- and grass- types, which are plentiful and hard to spot unless you’re careful. Lots of travelers have been waylaid by sleeping attacks, and the Beedrill colonies that populate the interior really are better left undisturbed. Poison’s nothing to scoff at, and deaths happen every year. 

We weren’t worried, though, and despite what Julietta had said at breakfast about not rushing, we had decided to save time by cutting directly through the center of the forest. All of us were curious about Aurea’s offer, which she had refused to discuss over the phone. We had strong Pokémon, plenty of supplies, and all of us were comfortable camping, which is more than I can say for a lot of the trainers you meet on the road. It was a pleasant day for a pleasant hike.

We came upon a stream less than an hour into our hike, and filled our canteens with the clean, cool water. Rapidash was happy for the relief as well, even though she can run for hours. Espeon appeared from the shadows and rubbed herself around Julietta’s ankles.

“Three days through the forest,” Julietta said, looking at the map. “We should link up with a trail in two days. Once we’re out and into Viridian City, it’s a day and a half on Route One to Pallet Town.” 

“Cake,” I said, “and we don’t even have to cross any more mountains.”

Julietta folded up the map, and I bent down to splash some water on my face. I had already pulled off my sweater. The morning chill was gone, and the sun was hot on our backs where it found its way through the thick forest canopy.

“Lead on,” I said, and Rob leapt across a narrower part of the stream. Julietta followed, as did Rapidash and I.

Our hike was enjoyable, and we had seen no one else when we broke again for a cold lunch of granola. We sat in the shade in a small grove, and passed a small bag of dried fruits back and forth. Sniffing, Ninetales and Houndoom wandered into camp.

“And where have you been?” I asked.

Ninetales panted at me, a bit of dried blood on his muzzle. 

“Full?”

He curled up in the sun by way of response, and Houndoom walked over and lay at Julietta’s side. Braviary and Skarmory finally drifted down to join us, and we offered them water from our canteens. 

“Empty out here,” said Rob. 

“We’ll probably run into hikers the day after tomorrow,” I said, “Once we hit the marked trails.”

“I like the quiet,” said Julietta, and I agreed. Viridian Forest is popular with a lot of young trainers who come for the less-threatening bug and grass Pokémon, and many of them don’t know when to walk away from a fight. Of course, our formidable entourage is usually enough to scare away the beginners, but there are occasions when conflict is unavoidable or when folks just don’t know when to leave well enough alone. 

Julietta is the most competitive of the three of us, and I haven’t seen her lose yet. She’ll accept most challengers, except the really weak ones, and she’s merciless. Rob doesn’t care about battling much at all, and I lie somewhere in between. Sure, I enjoy the victories, but once you’ve made it out into the real world, tourneys and ‘Dex-packing don’t seem as interesting as they do when you’re young. Give me the open sky and a destination, and I’m happy following my feet. To most places, that is.

My thoughts bent towards Pallet Town as we got to our feet and resumed our trek. Two years is a long time. The professor’s the only person from Pallet town I kept in touch with besides my mother after I left for the Academy – if you could call what I had with my mother ‘contact.’ I spent most of my youth trying to escape Pallet Town, and every time I was drawn back it felt like a failure.

We slept well that night after a long day making our way through uncut forest, and when we woke, clouds were crawling across the sky. It was grey and dark under the trees, and I was glad for Rapidash’s warmth. Ninetales and Houndoom led us through the woods, looking back occasionally to make sure that they were headed in the right direction. 

The air was still, the only sound our heavy breathing.

“I think it’s gonna rain,” said Rob, looking up at the thick clouds through a break in the canopy.

Two hours later, he was proven right. We huddled together against the trunk of a wide-boughed tree, Rapidash, Ninetales and Houndoom having taken refuge in their Pokeballs. That’s one thing about fire Pokémon – they don’t like the rain. Neither does Espeon, for that matter, and so it was just the three of us. Skarmory and Braviary had taken off again that morning, and were roosting somewhere in the woods. They could take care of themselves. 

We had our slickers pulled on and the branches provided some protection, but even so we were quickly soaked through. Being cold and wet is unpleasant, and we said little.

Julietta sat between Rob and me, and Rob passed the dried fruit around. 

“This sucks,” said Julietta. She likes rain about as much as Ninetales does, and hugged her knees in to her chest.

I nudged her with my shoulder. “Cheer up. It won’t last forever.” I was wrong, though. 

After a few hours, the rain slowed enough that we dared to leave the shelter of the tree, and we trudged on through the drizzle until dusk, when we gave in to the weather and pitched our tent. We carried two, but the larger one fit three people comfortably, and we didn’t feel like setting both up in the wet. Julietta had let Espeon out, and she curled up at our feet as Rob brought out a deck of cards and a bottle of something foul. We played a few hands before Julietta declared that she was going to sleep, and Rob and I passed the liquor back and forth and talked about nothing until we succumbed to fatigue.

Another damp morning awaited us, and we were grumpy without a fire. A breakfast of fruit and granola did little to warm us up or dry our boots, and I had a headache. It was overcast, and even Rob seemed moody.

“That set us back half a day,” said Julietta, checking the map and frowning. 

We had seen neither trainers nor Pokémon, aside from the occasional flock of Pidgey. Butterfree were plentiful in the summer, but this late in the year they’d have migrated south, and the Caterpie and Metapod were probably holed up in the trees by now.

“I doubt we’ll hit Viridian City until tomorrow,” she continued, before leading us away from the campsite.

“I can’t wait to take a shower,” Rob said.

“You’re getting fragile,” I said. “Used to be you’d spend weeks out here without complaint.”

“Used to be. But I’m cold.”

“And you smell,” said Julietta.

We carried enough money between the three of us for hotels when we didn’t feel like camping, and I was looking forward to a night in a bed as much as Julietta was. Staying in the Pokemon Centers is all well and good when you’re a teenager, but that was years ago. The three of us enjoyed a bit of civilization now and then. I suspected Julietta had a nice little nest egg hidden away somewhere, as she never seemed to want for anything, even if she was just as frugal as Rob and me.

We didn’t find the trail until late afternoon, and the rain had picked up again before we made it there. We saw one or two hikers on the path, and waved sodden hellos to each other without breaking stride. None of the Pokémon liked the weather any more than we did, so once again we found ourselves setting up camp alone.

“We should see the city tomorrow morning,” said Julietta, snapping together a tent pole. “We’re not that far now.”

I was surprised that I didn’t recognize the trail. I must have hiked that way in the past, even if it was long ago.The last time that Rob and I had been to Pallet town we had come through Celadon City in the East, entering Viridian City from a different direction. After leaving, we had made our way through Fuschia City and Lavender Town before meeting Julietta for the first time in Cerulean City.

“Oi,” said Julietta, interrupting my reminiscence, “help.”

I did, and soon the three of us were in the tent once more, listening to the rain on the roof.

“No wonder you don’t like it here,” Julietta said as I unrolled my sleeping bag.

“It doesn’t usually rain so much.”

“Are you going to phone your mother tomorrow?” she asked.

I sighed. “What’s the point?” 

“Well, I want to meet her.”

“No, you don’t.” 

Rob coughed, but Julietta pressed on.

“Sure I do. It’s not like you’ll be able to avoid her, right? Isn’t Pallet Town tiny?”

“Yeah.No real reason to go there unless you’re headed down to Cinnabar, and even so most people leave from the Southern coast and tour through Seafoam.” 

Julietta was right. If I didn’t call her, someone would probably see me and let her know I’d been there without saying, and that would only make things more unpleasant.

“Fine. I’ll call her tomorrow once we find a hotel. Why do you care so much about this?”

“You only get one family,” she said, busying herself in her pack.

Julietta had never volunteered anything about her own relatives, and I wasn’t about to ask. The way she fixated on my mother made me figure she’d tell us when she was ready.

“Hey,” said Rob, poking his head out of the tent, “rain’s stopped.”

Julietta and I crawled outside. The sun was dipping in the sky, but it looked like the clouds were thinning out.

“Finally,” said Julietta, “I thought my feet would never be dry again.” She sat down on a sodden log and opened a canteen.

“And I thought you’d never stop complaining,” I said, sitting next to her and holding my hand out for the water. She glared at me, but passed it to me anyway, and I took a long drink before handing it to Rob, who leaned against a tree across from us. 

“So?” he said, after tossing the empty canteen back to me. “Excited for the City?”

“God, yes,” said Julietta. “A hot bath and the chance to do my laundry? I’m afraid I’m going to smell as bad as Rob if this goes on.”

“You surpassed me long ago,” Rob said.

“Impossible.”

“You both stink,” I said, “I would know. I spent last night in a tent with the two of you and I thought I was going to suffocate.”

“I smell like a lady,” sniffed Julietta, “but I agree that Rob’s odor is disgusting.”

“The ladies like my odor,” said Rob, smirking.

“No they don’t,” said Julietta, “they like your money. Anyway, what ladies? All you ever do is flirt with the Sisters.”

“I’ll have you know I was the most eligible bachelor at the Academy. Wasn’t I, Niall?”

“That is...actually true. But that was only before any of the women had actually talked to you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rob said.

“It means that beauty’s only skin deep,” said Julietta.

“Ah,” said Rob, “Finally, you admit that I’m beautiful.”

Julietta laughed. “What I was trying to say is that you’re an idiot.”

Rob pulled a face. “You wound me.”

“Shall I give the two of you some privacy?” I said. I let Ninetales and Rapidash out of their pokeballs. Ninetales sneezed and lifted his paws when he felt the wet ground, looking up at me in disappointment.

“Deal with it, and go find yourself some dinner.” 

Julietta released Houndoom, and the two of them growled and tussled before disappearing into the trees. “Bring us something!” I yelled after them, and Houndoom barked in reply.

“I’ll try to find some wood,” said Rob, but as he turned to leave we heard a sharp cry from above us and Skarmory and Braviary descended in a gust of wind and leaves.

“Perfect timing,” Rob said, “you can help me look. C’mon.” Skarmory clacked at him, and leapt back into the air. Braviary puffed his feathers out and looked at me.

“You still hungry?” He snubbed his beak at me. “Ninetales and Houndoom are out hunting. Want to join them?” Braviary beat his wings once and landing in the branch of nearby tree, burrowing his head into his neck feathers and closing his eyes. “Suit yourself,” I told him, and turned back towards Julietta. 

Braviary’s as haughty as they come, and true, he may not be a fire-type, but we took a liking to each other a few years back and have been traveling together ever since. Technically, I didn’t catch him, but we have an understanding, and he doesn’t mind being carried in a pokeball on occasion. And he might act aloof, but he once tore apart a Magmar that had Skarmory pinned down with a flame wheel. I know where his loyalties lie.

Rob and Skarmory returned half an hour later, somehow having found wood that looked dry enough to burn. Rob made a small pile, and Rapidash, who was by now grazing next to the tent, set it alight. Skarmory hopped into the tree next to Braviary, who opened his eyes upon her arrival. The branch bent comically low under their combined weight, but it held, and Skarmory began preening the feathers on Braviary’s nape with her metal beak.

“Those two,” said Rob, “get closer every day.”

“Jealous?” said Julietta.

“A little,” Rob said. I snorted.

“I’m sure there’s a Jenny out there for you,” I said. “Or a Joy.”

“Unlikely,” said Julietta, “Unless he was more successful before I showed up. You know, back when he was Most Eligible Bachelor.”

“So it’s a dry spell,” said Rob, shrugging, “Not like the two of you are doing any better. Plus, I have a good feeling about Viridian City. Let’s go out tomorrow night, Niall.”

“As you wish,” I said. “You too, Jules. We’ll have a celebration.”

“A celebration?” she asked.

“Call it an autumn harvest festival,” Rob said to her. “I think you owe me a drink, too.”

“For what?”

“For hurting my feelings just now. Cold beer goes a long way towards restoring my good favor.”

She laughed. “Your favor’s cheap. But fine, I’ll buy you a beer. You too, Niall. Hell, I haven’t gotten properly drunk in ages.”

“That’s the spirit,” I said, “let it loose, Jules. I’ll be there with the bucket.”

“Last time it was me with the bucket,” she said, and Rob laughed. 

“I already said thank you. And that only happened once.”

“That was a good time,” said Rob.

“For who?” I said.

“For me. And for the rest of Ecruteak City, probably.”He stooped to pick up his pack and carried it towards the fire, where he began unloading some battered spice tins.

It was amazing what a little warmth and a break in the rain did for our spirits. The fire cheered us, and we had our shoes dried out by the time Ninetales and Houndoom returned, each carrying a brace of hares. I set about skinning two of them, and the dogs lay down behind the tent to enjoy their kills in private. 

Rob takes care of most of the cooking. He’s good at it, even when he’s not reheating canned food, and he enjoys it. We, for our part, enjoy letting him cook for us, and before long the hares were sizzling on a pair of spits. 

“Gimme,” said Julietta, crouching down next to Rob.

“Patience,” he said, turning one of them delicately.

“I’m hungry.”

“I can tell, but it’s not ready. Niall, do something about this.”

“I can’t control her,” I said.

“Damn right,” said Julietta, standing.

“Hey,” I said to her, “Did you think there was something weird about the Joy in Pewter City?”

“This again?” said Rob.

Julietta frowned. “Can’t say I noticed, but I wasn’t paying attention. Does it matter?”

“Nah. Guess not.”

Ninetales barked from where he sat on the edge of the camp, and I tossed him the entrails I had removed from the hares. He disappeared back into the darkness, and we heard the sounds of canine enjoyment.

“Simple pleasures,” said Julietta, looking on.

“You any different?”

“’Course not,” she said, showing her teeth. “I like eating the insides, too.”

Rob called us over a few minutes later, and we passed the spits back and forth between us, tearing off mouthfuls of hot meat. It didn’t take them long to disappear, and the three of us sat back in silence. Rob fished the bottle of horrors out of his pack, and poured us each a measure.

“A toast,” he said, raising his mug, “to good food and good company.”

“To us,” Julietta said, “and to being dry.”

“Hear, hear,” I said, and downed mine with a grimace. “My god, where did you find this stuff?”

“Agh,” coughed Julietta. “That is vile.”

“It is a bit harsh,” Rob pursed his lips and made a sommelier’s face at his mug.

“It tastes like cleaning fluid,” said Julietta. “More, please.”

Rob refilled our mugs, and our heads were spinning when we crawled into our sleeping bags an hour later. 

“Anyone want to come back in?” I called out of the tent flap to the Pokémon. I got no response, and started to zip up the flap.

“Leave that open,” said Rob. “No bugs this time of year.”

“It’ll be cold,” said Julietta.

“You’ll live,” said Rob, pulling his bag up over his head. The tent instantly filled with the sound of snoring.

“Wonderful,” said Julietta. She was in between the two of us, and rolled to face me where I lay on my back with my hands underneath my head.

“Night, Niall,” she said.

“Night,” I said. Despite the rumbling emanating from Rob’s bag, it wasn’t long before I heard Julietta’s steady breathing as well, and eventually lost myself to dreams.

I woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty.I rolled over, fumbling for a bottle. Through the open tent flap, I could see Rapidash’s mane flickering in the darkness.

“Niall?” Julietta opened her eyes and mumbled at me.

“Sorry,” I whispered, grabbing a canteen and unscrewing it. “Just thirsty. Go back to sleep.”

“’Ugh,” she said. I heard her tossing back and forth as I drank. “Damnit, now I’m awake. Give me that.”

I passed her the canteen, and she propped herself up on an elbow and took a swig from the bottle.

“Ah, that’ll do me good tomorrow. When I said I hadn’t gotten properly drunk in ages, that didn’t mean I wanted a hangover for our hike into the city.” She looked over at Rob’s now-silent form. “At last, the beast slumbers.”

She took another sip and passed me the water, and I did the same.

“More?”

“Nah,” she said, lying back down. I turned over towards the wall and tucked my chin into my bag.

“Cold. You mind if I lean on you?”

“Nah,” I said. Her back pressed against mine, and when I opened my eyes again, it was morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Our hike into Viridian City took all morning, but we found a hotel without much trouble. Rob and I split a room, and Julietta opted for privacy. Camping was one thing, she said, but she wasn’t about to share a hotel room with a pair of unwashed ruffians.The three of us called Aurea from the hotel to let her know that we’d be arriving in two days. She seemed relieved, and we didn’t think much about it on our way to the showers.

“Meet here in a few?” said Rob.

“Yeah,” Julietta said. “Let’s go somewhere nice tonight. My treat.”

“Serious?” said Rob. 

“Serious,” said Julietta. “It’s your birthday present.”

Rob grinned. “Thanks,” he said.

“Sure,” she said. “Try not to look like a slob, okay?”

Freshly scrubbed, Rob and I descended to the lounge to wait for Julietta. We keep a change of nicer clothes in the bottom of our packs for times like these, and we looked good enough, if rumpled. I hear that adds to the charm, though.

The elevator dinged, and Julietta emerged wearing, inexplicably, something slim and black and silken that I’d never seen before. I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff.

Rob whistled, hands in his pockets. “New duds?”

“Needed a change.”

“Looks good,” he said, before dismissing her. “Come on, I’m starved.” 

Julietta smiled at me.

“You look great,” I said, and I meant it.

She cocked an eyebrow at my wrinkled blazer. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Thanks,” I said, grinning.

“Hungry!” Rob yelled from the doorway, and Julia shrugged into a light jacket as we followed him out into the cool night.

“What do you want to eat?” I asked.

“Sushi,” said Julietta.

“No sushi in Viridan City, Patroness,” said Rob. “What else?” 

We settled on a burger joint, after which we found a mostly-clean bar and did indeed get properly drunk and properly loud before returning to the hotel and the comfort of a real bed. Julietta’s walk had taken on a distinct and distinctly unsteady lean, and when we got off the elevator onto our floor I wasn’t convinced she’d make it back to her room.

Once again, Rob was asleep in seconds. I envy him. I nursed a large bottle of water as I lay in bed. My head was fuzzy, but I hadn’t cut loose like Julietta had. I doubted the burger joint would forget her visit any time soon.

Just as I was slipping off to sleep, there was a banging on the door. I had a pretty good idea who it was, and when I opened it up Julietta slid off it onto the floor.

“Help, please,” she said.

“What a fucking mess,” I said, lifting her up. 

“Sorry,” she slurred, and put her arm around my neck. I was suddenly very aware of how close our faces were.

“No ideas,” she said, as I helped her back towards the elevator.

“Please,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Not that I’d mind.”

“You’re drunk.”

“Yes.”

“I’m putting you to bed.”

“Yes.”

“Where’s your key?”

“Dunno.”

“Of course not,” I said, turning around again and opening the door to my room. “You can have my bed.”

“Thanks.”

I tucked her in. “Here’s a bucket and a glass of water,” I said, sitting down next to her. Rob was snoring in the other bed, and Julietta lurched upright and hurled a pillow at him. It missed.

“Lie down,” I said.

“Okay. Hey, Niall.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure,” I said, and stood.

Somehow I managed to convince the sleepy woman at the front desk to give me a new key to Julietta’s room, and I curled up in her bed. The next day was going to suck.

***

Even with Julietta stopping routinely to run into the bushes, the hike passed quickly, and we made a simple camp along Route One.

“Back on the road,” said Julietta, watching as Rob once again tended to the fire. It was a clear night, and all of our Pokémon were out.

“Such is life,” I said. Ninetales and Houndoom were tussling together in the darkness, and the birds were roosting in a tree. Julietta had her ghosts out, and Chandelure floated around the fire while Gengar and Espeon sat at her feet. Even Rob’s team was out, and Rhydon was grazing next to Rapidash. Steelix had long ago disappeared into the earth, where he’d stay until morning. Scizor and Sandslash and were eating together.

“Feeling better?”

“Ugh. Yes. I regret my determination, though.”

“I feel great,” offered Rob.

“Shut up,” said Julietta. “That’s the last time I ever buy you a drink, you philandering excuse for a man. I almost died of second-hand embarrassment.”

“Don’t hate the player.”

“I don’t. I find him pathetic.”

“What a crowd,” I said, changing the subject. It was rare that we had all the Pokemon out at once, as it tended to result in an energetic campsite. We had purchased a couple of cans of stew in Viridian City, and Rob busied himself with a pot. We had another satisfying meal together, and I tossed the occasional morsel of meat to Ninetales. 

“Pallet Town tomorrow,” said Rob.

“Did you call your mother?” said Julietta. “You didn’t, did you?”

“I forgot,” I said. “Too busy drinking.”

“God, you’re useless,” she said.

“I’ll call her from Aurea’s lab.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I will.”

I would, I told myself later as I lay down in the tent. It would be terrible, but I’d do it anyway.

***

The next day, we called at the lab on the outskirts of town, and a frazzled-looking Professor Ventus opened the door and ushered us inside without much pomp.

“So, Professor,” said Rob, “how can we be of service?”

Rob gets a little giddy around Aurea. I’ve teased him about it before, and all he’ll say is that he’s got a thing for intelligent, well-dressed women. I can’t say I blame him, and Aurea is certainly an admirable lady - a well-known scientist and theorist; one of Kanto’s best-known public figures. Who knows why she puts up with us.

Aurea’s either totally ignorant of Rob’s halfhearted advances, or she’s a master of the cold shoulder. Either way, she was all business.

“A delivery,” she said, and Rob groaned.

“An important one,” Aurea said, and he shut up. An important job meant a quiet job.

Aurea walked over to a safe, tapped a number into a keyboard, and pulled out a lump of something.

“A rock?” I asked.

“Not quite,” Aurea answered. She looked at it, and held it up to the light. It was metallic, and shone under the fluorescent bulbs of the lab.

“What is it?” Julietta asked.

“It’s old,” Aurea said. “Very old.”

“OK, but what is it?” Julietta asked.

“Don’t know,” said Aurea. “Not my area of expertise. But I know it’s really, really old.”

I was silent for a moment. “How old?” I asked. Aurea smiled at me.

“First Civ, I think.” I raised my eyebrows, and Rob whistled. “And you don’t know what it does?”

Aurea shook her head.“I know it’s inert,” she said, “but I haven’t the faintest idea what it’s for.”

“Can I see?” Aurea passed Julietta the lump. For an instant it pulsed, glowed, and then subsided again. She gasped, jerked her hand back, and it dropped on the floor. We all stared.

“Sorry. It…shocked me, I think.”

“Shocked?” said Aurea. “Are you all right? It did that once or twice when it touched my machinery, but I can’t figure out why. I just finished my tests - it really should be completely inert.”

“Yes, I am. Maybe it was - static, or something.”

She scooted away from the dull stone, and looked at her fingers. Aurea bent to pick it up, but it did nothing.

“So why do you need us?” Julietta asked. She shook her hand again, stuck it in her pocket.

“My colleague, Professor Yew, dug this out of an excavation site in the Unova deserts sometime in the last two months and sent in to me in an unmarked package. Two weeks ago, he was killed.”

My eyebrows rose even higher. “Killed?”

“He was found in his hotel room in Castelia City with his throat torn out. His room was ransacked.”

“And you think that this lump of metal is why?” Julietta was looking at the shape with narrowed eyes.

“Yes. I’m sure that whoever killed him was looking for it, but he had already sent it to me.”

The Professor was occasionally scatterbrained, but when she was serious she was deadly serious, and she wasn’t the sort to jump to conclusions. It was why she was so damn good at her job.

“Professor, if that’s the case, you might not be safe here,” I said. 

“I’m not so sure,” she said. “If Yew’s killer took the time to search his room, then that means they didn’t know he’d already sent it to me. I don’t know if he told anyone what he did with his find, and I can’t ask now.”

“Are the police involved?” Rob asked.

“Of course they are,” said Aurea, “but to the Jennies it’s a violent robbery, nothing more. Professor Yew was well off, and a lot had been stolen from his room.”

“And they don’t know about the artifact, either,” I said.

“They didn’t mention it,” said Aurea.

“And you didn’t offer,” I said.

Aurea shrugged, and turned back to the safe. She showed us a nondescript envelope of bubble-pack, and pulled a sheet of paper from it.

“This was all that accompanied it,” she said, handing it to me. There was a note scribbled on it:

 

_ Aurea, _

_ KEEP IT SAFE _

_ -YEW _

 

There was no return address.

“He had an awful lot of faith in the mailman,” said Rob.

“So, we have a murdered Pokemon professor who went out of his way to keep what he was sending and the fact that he sent it a secret, but didn’t bother to explain to you what it was he sent,” I said.

“He probably didn’t plan on being dead,” said Julietta, frowning.

“That’s my guess,” said Aurea. “He was scheduled to visit in the spring. I assume he planned to discuss his find with me then.”

“But why bother to be so secretive,” I wondered aloud, “if he wasn’t worried?”

“You think he knew he was in danger?” said Rob.

I looked at the note and the envelope.

“I’d guess he was in a rush,” I said.

“How’d he die?” asked Julietta.

“The Jennies said it was a Pokémon,” Aurea said.

“One with teeth, I gather,” said Rob.

Aurea shook her head. “They didn’t think so. But they couldn’t tell me what kind.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Pokémon being used for murder,” said Julietta, “what happened to guns?”

“It does seem like a hard way of going about it,” said Rob.

“Maybe it was a message?” I said.

“What kind of message?” said Julietta.

“Be afraid,” said Aurea. We looked at her. “Seems likely, doesn’t it? Whoever did it, they weren’t exactly concerned with keeping a low profile.”

“More the opposite,” I said. “I think you’re right. Professor, you should lay low for a while.”

“Like hell,” said Aurea. “I’ve got work to do and I’ll be damned if a single murder’s going to keep me from it. I need to know what Yew was working on before he died, and I can’t go to Castelia to poke around. That means I need to be here to do it.”

“I’m serious,” I said.

“Me too. Don’t worry,” she said, and her voice softened. “I’ve got places to hide, if I need to.”

“Promise me,” I said. She smiled and nodded.

“So,” said Rob, “What are we doing with it?”

“Take it to Saffron City,” said Aurea, “and look up a friend of mine. Professor Cadney. She knows more about this sort of thing than I do. I’ll phone her so she expects you.”

“Niall,” she said, looking at me. “Keep this one quiet, okay? Play it safe.”

“He always does, Professor,” said Rob, “no one is less fun that Mr. Niall Afallon.”

“Good. Take the roads, too. I’d stay away from transport, and anyone who’ll ask questions about what you’re doing. Quickly, though.” I nodded

There was a banging on the lab door, and all of us tensed.

“Expecting someone?” I asked. Aurea shook her head shortly.

“Niall!” came a familiar voice. I cringed. “I know you’re in there!”

“You wouldn’t,” I said.

“No, and I didn’t,” said Aurea. “Answer it. And keep this between the four of us. Here. Cash.” She pressed an envelope into my hand, and I tucked it into my jacket pocket and walked to the door.

***

“Two years,” said my mother, “and you don’t even let me know you’re coming? I have to hear it from the neighbors the day you arrive?” I could smell the liquor on her breath from across Aurea’s sitting room table

“And you!” she said, turning to the professor and holding an arm out to balance herself, “you could have told me!”

“I’m not a babysitter, Ms. Afallon,” Aurea said. “I’ll make tea.”

My mother scoffed. 

“Well?” she said, looking at me, “what’s your excuse this time? Forgot to mention it?”

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Afallon,” said Julietta, holding out a hand. My mother looked at her for the first time and narrowed her eyes.

“And who are you supposed to be?” she rasped, “another two-bit whore from Celadon, like the ones his father used to visit?”

To Julietta’s credit, she kept her face blank. “I’ll help Aurea with the tea,” she said, getting to her feet.

“So? Is that what you’re doing now?” my mother returned her attention to me. “Following in his illustrious footsteps?” 

“Hardly,” I said.

“Don’t get smart with me,” she said, “I raised you.”

“Hardly,” I said again, and she slapped me.

Rob stood. “Tea,” he said.

“Why are you here, mother?” I asked. “Didn’t we do this last time?”

“Shut up,” she said. “And show some fucking,” she spat the word at me, “some fucking respect. If your brother was here, he wouldn’t let you talk to me like that.”

“He’s not here.He’s dead.” She slapped at me again, but I moved my head out of the way.

“I know that better than anyone. Better than you do. You don’t even miss him.” 

I stood up.

“This was nice. But we have to leave.”

“Where’s your fucking loyalty,” she said, getting to her feet and swaying.

“I can’t believe you can stand.”

“Your brother would help me. If he was here. It’d be better if he was...it’d be better if it was him who was here.”

There it was. Too bad it wasn’t you. The pride of the family, taken too young.My parents had never recovered, and split before I completed my four years at the Academy. Coming home had become increasingly uncomfortable. My mother drank more and more, and my father was around less and less. Finally he walked out, and I haven’t heard from him since.

The last time I had subjected myself to one of these pleasant family reunions, I had gotten a glass of wine in the face for my trouble, and two of my mother’s neighbors had to hold her back while she tried to attack me.

“I’m leaving.”

“Coward,” she said.

“Rob, Jules, we’re leaving.”

“Fucking coward,” she yelled.

“We’ll phone you, Professor,” I said, as I shut the door. We could hear my mother hurling expletives after us as we left.

“Well,” said Julietta, as we turned onto the road out of the city that led to Route One, “that wasn’t so bad.”

***

“He was the smart one,” I told Julia as we set up our bedrolls around the small fire. The night was clear, and we didn’t bother with a tent. “Really smart. Top of his class. Top of the league.”

“How’d he die?” she asked.

“Drugs,” I said. “No one guessed.”

“She seemed better than last time,” Rob offered, handing me an apple. Cold dinner tonight. 

“At least she wasn’t trying to kill me.”

“I did not expect that,” said Julietta.

“I did.” I had indeed been expecting it, but it always stung.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Not your fault,” I said.

Ninetales laid his head on my lap, and I rubbed his muzzle.

“Thanks,” I said to him, and he gave me a light nip on the thigh.

“It’ll take us at least eight days to get to Saffron City,” said Rob, changing the subject, “but it’s an easy walk.”

“We can cut it down if we ride,” I said, turning to Rapidash. “How does that sound? Think you can carry me and Jules for a little while?” He bent his neck towards me in acknowledgment. 

Rob could ride Steelix, who wasn’t fast but was more than strong enough to carry two humans, though he only had room on his head for one. Braviary and Skarmory could have taken Rob and me, but Julietta had no flying types and Dragonair couldn’t make it long distances, so that left Rapidash and Steelix.

“Two days, then,” said Rob, “if we push. Hard.”

“It sounds like we’d better,” Julietta said.

“Three, with Rapidash carrying two of us,” I said. “It’s been a while since we had a good ride.”

“I’ve never seen Aurea look worried before,” said Rob.

“Me neither,” I said, “which is why I’m thinking we’d do well to get this done quickly.”

“You think she’ll be safe?” asked Julietta.

I frowned. “If she says she will be, she probably knows better than we do,” I said. “I’m worried, though. Worried because she’s worried. Worried because she asked us to do this for her, instead of another colleague.”

“Means she doesn’t know who to trust,” said Rob.

“Yeah,” I said, “and it means we don’t know either.”

“Either of you ever heard of this Cadney?” Julietta said.

Rob and I shook our heads. “Never,” said Rob.

“Or Yew,” I said. 

“I’ve heard of Yew,” said Julietta. “He was based at the university in Cerulean City for a year while I was there. Never met him, though.”

I stood and kicked dirt over the fire.

“Early morning tomorrow,” I said, settling down onto my pad. “Rest up. This isn’t going to be fun.”


	3. 3

The next three days were a blur of sleep, cramped muscles, and saddle sores for me and Julietta. Route One went by quickly, and it’s a pretty enough ride from Viridian City along Route 16 towards Celadon. I don’t have a saddle for Rapidash, and Julietta wasn’t used to riding bareback. All my pants are riding pants, but they were too large for her, and we didn’t make much progress the first day. I didn’t even have the energy to think about how it felt to have Julietta’s arms around me while we rode. Rob led the way, perched at ease atop Steelix, but at least he refrained from rubbing it in. 

We hit Saffron City on the evening of the third day and found a hotel where we checked in with assumed names. Aurea had given us an uncomfortable amount of cash that bordered on ludicrous, which put us even more on edge. It meant she expected us to need it. We called her to let her know we’d made it, and she told us she’d be in touch within the hour once she’d been talked with Cadney. We hung up, and waited. Fifteen minutes later, she called back, and her dark hair and light brown skin filled the videophone.

“Did you get ahold of her, Professor?” I asked, and then felt my mouth go dry. Aurea was frantic.

“Niall,” she said, speaking quickly, “this is important. Get away from Saffron. They know you’re there. Head to Silver Town. Cadney will meet you at her lab there. Promise me – ”

We heard banging on the door behind her.

“Aurea. Get the hell out of there.”

“There’s no time.” There was a loud crunch, and the sound of splintering wood.

“Listen to me, Niall. Take it to Cadney. Tell her that it’s Fuel. Don’t say a word to anyone else.” The door burst open, and Aurea slammed the receiver down as black-clad figures swarmed into the room. The screen went black.

We were silent.

Thirty seconds later, the phone rang. My hand jerked. 

“Don’t pick up,” said Rob.

“Shit,” said Julietta. “Shit, shit, shit. What the fuck is going on?”

“You heard her,” I said. “We have to get the out of the city and hope the meeting works out.”

“They have the number of the hotel,” said Julietta. “We need to leave.”

I nodded. “Five minutes,” I said, “get your packs.”

Five minutes later we walked out of the door and into the night, leaving behind a very confused concierge. I led us east towards the city outskirts where we mounted up again, and in a few hours the glow of the city was far behind us. None of us spoke. We made camp in silence, and a tired Rapidash allowed me, for once, to administer a potion and return her to stasis. 

“Do you think they’ll kill her?” Julietta asked. Rob was quiet.

“I don’t know,” I said.

Rob shook his head. “They did that with Yew and it got them nowhere. At this point, it seems obvious that they’re after the stone, and once they find out Aurea doesn’t have it I imagine they’ll ask her where it is.”

Julietta shivered in the firelight. “We keep saying ‘They’ like we have a clue who these people are.”

The three of us had seen our share of violence in the two years that we’d been together. Bar fights, brawls, and yeah, we’d had the occasional gun fired at us. But and Academy education has its uses. Solving problems with our Pokémon, staying out of sight; that was what we were good at. But teams of murderers?

“We’ll hit Silver Town early tomorrow,” said Rob. “Any ideas where we should look for this Cadney?”

Aurea hadn’t mentioned anything before the screen had gone dark.

“None,” I said, “but we’ll have to start somewhere. Shouldn’t be that hard to find a Pokemon lab.”

Morning found us stiff and tired. It was cooler at the foot of the mountains, and a thin layer of frost covered the grass around us. We’d have to start sleeping in the tents. We packed before getting back into the saddle and making our way towards Silver Town, dismounted again when the buildings came into view, and entered the town on foot.

“What’s our story?” Rob asked.

“Grant proposal for Cadney,” I suggested. “Healing properties of Magnemites.”

“Good enough,” said Julietta.

We had no idea where to start looking, so the first place we decided on was the Pokemon Center. If anyone knew where to find Cadney, it would be the Silver Town Joy.

The giant Pokemon Center was located directly across from the massive conference hall.There’s a yearly competition in Silver Town, sort of like the Olympiads of the old days, and the Pokemon Center’s where all the trainers are housed while competing. The city more or less shuts down when it’s not competition season, and this close to winter, the center was empty.

“Welcome to the Silver Town Pokemon Center!” said Joy as the doors slid open for us. “We heal your Pokemon back to perfect health! Shall I heal your Pokemon for you?” We obliged, happy for the respite, and waited until she returned our teams to us.

“What brings you to Silver Town?” the Joy asked. Ninetales put on his most adorable face and Joy smiled at him.

“We’re supposed to be meeting Professor Cadney,” I said, “but she never told us the directions to her lab. I don’t suppose you could tell us they way?”

“Of course,” said Nurse Joy, ecstatic to be of use. “Her laboratory is in the south of the town. Turn left out the door and head down Main Street and you can’t miss it!”

“That was easy,” Rob said.

“Never hurts to ask,” Julietta began. “Thanks for your-”

“Why did you say you were meeting her?” said Nurse Joy, interrupting. 

“A grant proposal,” I said, surprised. “Studying the healing effects of Magnemite.”

“Fascinating!” Nurse Joy said. “Her laboratory is in the south of the town. Turn left out the door and head down Main Street and you can’t miss it!”

I exchanged a glance with Julietta.

“Thanks again,” I said, stepping back from the counter.

“What brings you to Silver Town?” said Nurse Joy.

“We have to go,” I said, “but thank you for your time.”

“Why did you say you were meeting her?” said Nurse Joy as we walked out the door, the same beatific smile on her face.

We followed her directions, hurrying down the empty main street. We didn’t see a single car, and most of the shops were already closed for winter. The few people we saw seemed uninterested in us, and we walked on in silence.

“Before you ask,” said Rob, “yes, I did notice.”

“What the hell was that about?” said Julietta.

“No idea,” I said, “but it gave me the creeps.”

Ten minutes later, we came to the end of the street. Just as Joy had said, a nondescript white building stood before us, on the very edge of the city. A scrubby forest sprang up behind it. “Professor Cadney, P.Ph.D,” said a small sign next to the door. Despite Joy’s assurances, we most definitely would have missed it had we not known where to look.

“Pretty unimposing for a Pokémon lab,” said Rob.

“So’s Aurea’s place,” I said. He grunted and rang the bell.

Almost immediately, a rectangular hole appeared in the door, and we were greeted by a pair of green eyes set against pale skin, framed by hair so blonde it shone.

“Professor Cadney?”

“Yes?”

“My name is Niall – ”

The hole slammed shut, and my mouth followed suit. Moments later, the door swung open.

“In,” said a voice from behind it, “hurry.”

“Aurea told me you were coming,” said the professor, closing the door behind us, “but I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”

“It seemed prudent to rush. Professor, before we continue, may I see some sort of identification?”

She smiled at me. “Good lad,” she said. “You can. No wonder Aurea likes you.” She showed me two forms of ID, and even pointed out a framed photograph of her and Aurea together. We made our brief introductions as Cadney lead us into the laboratory. 

“We go way back,” she said, “We were students together in Saffron City years ago.” 

“Funny,” I said, “she never mentioned you.”

“Why would she?” said Cadney. “Is she in the habit of talking to you about her friends?”

I thought for a moment. Aurea wasn’t one for small talk.

“Sit,” said Cadney, and we sat.

“How did you find me?”

“Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy told us.” Cadney nodded, and I cocked my head. “Speaking of which, have you noticed her behaving strangely recently?”

“I don’t have much cause to go to the Pokemon Center these days,” she said, “since I don’t keep a team anymore. What was she doing?”

“She kept repeating herself,” said Julietta. “Like she was...resetting.”

I thought for a moment. 

“It was the same as when we came into Pewter City,” I said.

“Strange,” said Cadney, “but I have no answers.Now, Aurea called me from a blocked number and wouldn’t say anything over the phone. Have you spoken to her?”

I nodded. “The last we saw of Aurea, the door to her lab was being broken down by group of people in uniform.” 

“My god,” said Cadney. “The same people who killed Yew?”

“It seems likely.”

Cadney frowned. “What do you have for me?”

I took out the battered package and emptied it out onto the table, and the lump of metal hit the wood with a solid thunk.

“This,” I said. “Aurea told me to tell you that it’s-” 

“Fuel,” Cadney finished, staring at the material.

“Yes,” I said.

“I’ve never seen it before,” said Cadney.

“What is it?” asked Julietta.

“Dangerous,” said Cadney, getting to her feet. “Stay here.” Turning, she disappeared through a door.

“Do you think they all learn to talk like that in Pokemon Professor school?” said Rob. “All mysteriously and such?”

The door flew open again before I had a chance to respond, and Cadney sat back down with some sort of plastic terminal in her hand.

“Aurea said it was inert,” said Julietta.

“It is, which is good,” said Cadney, “because if this is really Fuel, we’d all be dead if it weren’t.”

Rob pursed his lips. “Thrilling.”

Cadney bent over her terminal for a moment, and a series of lights flashed in various colors before settling on blue.

“What does blue mean?” I said.

“Blue means I was right,” said Cadney. “Come with me. I need to show you something” She stood again and led us through the door into a room filled with equipment. On one wall was a giant picture, showing stones covered in unfamiliar scrawls.

“This,” she said, pointing at the picture, “is First Civ writing uncovered from the desert site where Yew was doing his research. I was there when he made the initial excavations, and this was one of the first discoveries we made.

“What does it say?” asked Julietta.

“It talks about an energy source,” said Cadney, “And that’s what you’ve brought me. Energy. Fuel.”

We were quiet, looking up at the strange writing.

“What was it for?” asked Rob.

“They used it for just about everything, from power plants to engines.”

“Strange.”

“Very.And more than anything else, they used it for weapons.”

“What kind of weapons?” I asked.

“The kind that ended the First Civilization,” she said.

Rob laughed. “You’re serious?”

“I’ve been working on this for my entire life,” she said. “I know what that writing says, and I know what that lump of metal is.”

Rob stopped laughing. I didn’t blame him. According to what little information we had found, the empires of the First Civilization had crumbled into dust tens of thousands of years ago in the aftermath of some sort of conflict. A handful of ancient ruins were all that remained. 

“How does it work?” asked Julietta.

“That, I don’t know,” said Cadney. “But our predecessors used it as a font of incredible power. We might use the sun and the wind for energy, but the First Civ relied on this.” 

“You called it inert,” I said. “That means it’s not dangerous now, right?”

“I did say that, and it isn’t. But it could be again, I think.”

“What do you mean?” asked Julietta.

“It means that I think right now it’s more or less turned off. But I also think that the First Civ had some way to turn it back on. Some of the texts we’ve found talk about the Fuel killing people who did nothing more than touch it. Make no mistake - it’s a weapon, no matter the shape it takes.”

“But we’re not dead,” I said.

Cadney nodded.

“And you’re sure it’s the Fuel.”

She nodded again.

“We know that they could transport it,” she said, “so they must have had some way to make it safe to handle.”

We stood there, staring at the ugly lump of dull material, until Rob declared he needed food.I was happy to escape the crowded confines of the laboratory, and we sat back down in Cadney’s sitting room. Something was bothering me, tickling the back of my mind.

“Were the Pokemon the same back then?” Rob asked.

Cadney turned to him. “I wish I knew. There are very few records of Pokemon in First Civ writings, and only in the writings that follow what we think of as the end of their civilization. A shame - they produced so much art, so much beauty, but it appears they succumbed to internal conflict.We have so little information that it’s hard to know anything for certain.”

“Professor,” I said, shooting to my feet and feeling like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner, “how many people know that you worked at the Yew excavation?”

Her face went blank.

“It’s not a secret,” she said. “Anyone who worked there now would be able to tell you if you asked.”

“And it’s not as though your laboratory is hard to find,” said Julietta, finishing the thought.

“We should go.” Rob held a hand out to the professor. “You’re coming with us. We don’t know what they did to Aurea.” 

Julietta was on her feet, eyes closed, talking to Espeon somehow. I ignored her.

“A window please, Professor,” I said, and she pointed towards a small kitchenette. I pulled the small window over the sink open and hurled Braviary’s pokeball out. They’d only been three days behind us when we left Pallet Town; how much time did we have before they caught up with us again?

“I want you to keep an eye on us from up high,” I said to Braviary. “People are probably coming, and we need to know when they do.” He leapt into the air, flapping his powerful wings until he was no more than a speck in the sky.

I returned the sitting room, and my mouth dropped open when I saw two pokeballs floating in midair. Before I could say anything, Alakazam and Houndoom appeared.

“Jules?” I said.

Her mouth was set in a line. “What?”

“How’d you, uh, do that?”

“Do what?”

Rob and Cadney were both staring at her.

“Uh, your pokeballs were...floating.”

“Oh. Yeah, that happens.”

“You routinely make things float?” said Cadney.

“Is that a problem?”

“No,” I said. “Where were we?”

“We’ll need barriers if they have weapons,” she said, and then put her hand on the chair next to her.“Sorry. I’m a little dizzy.” 

I nodded. Ninetales appeared from his pokéball into the now-crowded room. 

“Time to go,” I said. “Braviary’s flying lookout. Professor, do you know any safe places we can make for?”

She answered without missing a beat. “South, into the forest,” she said, “and then west along the coast. I have a friend who will help us.”

“Someone you trust?” 

She nodded. “With my life.”

“Fancy that. Let’s move.”

I made my way towards the entrance of the lab, and was reaching for the doorknob when I heard Braviary’s distinctive screech in the distance. 

“That means company. Is there a back door?”

“This way,” said Cadney, and she took us down a flight of stairs and into a large garage stuffed full of equipment I couldn’t recognize and didn’t have time to ask about. There was a massive overhead door attached to the roof on runners and a small door on the concrete wall next to it.

“The lab’s on a hill,” she said. “This door opens to the outside.”

I took my time opening and poking my head out. Braviary hadn’t called again, which meant we had a little bit of time at least. 

“Come on,” I said, jogging out the door towards the forest. Ninetales trotted along beside me, Rob and Cadney following quickly behind, and Julietta and Houndoum brought up the rear. Alakazam shuffled along in a manner that made it look as though he was barely moving, but his long strides allowed him to keep pace with the more fleet-footed members of our group. 

We reached the tree line and crossed into the woods. It was new growth, sparse, and didn’t offer much by way of cover.

“Does this get thicker?” I asked

“Further in,” said Cadney.

“How much further?”

“A mile, maybe two.” 

We continued on until we hit the edge of a small clearing, but hadn’t been running for more than ten minutes when we heard Braviary’s cry again. I held up a hand, and motioned everyone to be silent. Another cry. They were close. I hoped that Braviary was taking care not be spotted. In the distance, we could hear the snapping of branches and the sounds of movement. We’d gotten out just in time, but I kicked myself for not realizing our danger earlier.

“If they’re any good at all at tracking,” said Rob, “They’ll be able to follow us.” 

“They already are,” I said, and soon we began to hear the sound of barking.

“Houndour,” said Julietta. “They’re searching for us. We’re not going to be able to hide.”

“Well then,” I said, “We’re just going to have to make sure they don’t like what they find. They don’t know what we’re running.”

“You’re going to fight them?” Cadney said, “When you don’t even know how many of them there are?” She didn’t sound optimistic.

“We’re sure as hell not going to let them take you,” said Rob, “and if that means fighting we’ll fight. Don’t worry,” he added, winking at her, “we’re not exactly pushovers.”

“Rob, get Skarmory up high with Braviary. Julietta, can Alakazam set up an illusion to buy us some time?” Julietta nodded, and Alakazam got to work, the two of them communicating without speaking. Skarmory beat her way skywards as I had a word with Ninetales and Houndoom.

“Fast and hard,” I told Rob and Julietta, standing up again. “They might be running fire types too, but that won’t matter if we get to them before they see us.Espeon and Alakazam will try to slow them down, but Houndour are immune to psychic attacks, so the best we can hope for is to confuse their handlers. Ninetales and Houndoom will keep them occupied long enough for Rob’s earth-movers to land the heavy blows.”

Rob nodded, Rhydon already flanking him.

“Scizor’ll have a field day in these trees if they break through,” he said.

“As long as he can keep dodging the fire attacks,” I said. “Keep him close, on defense, and get Cadney somewhere safe. Be ready to run with Steelix.”

Only one more to go. Rapidash would be no help in the woods, so I placed my last pokeball carefully on the ground and stepped back as it opened. A long, serpentine form blurred into view, and everyone exhaled in relief when she appeared. Dragonair pulsed in the daylight, a gentle blue glow emanating from her body. 

“You think you can help us?” I asked her, holding out my hand.Even after five years, I was somewhat in awe of Dragonair – despite the fact that I’d been training her since she was a Dratini.

Dragonair crooned at me, bending her neck and resting her head on my shoulder.

“Thanks,” I said, stroking the scales behind her small wings. Dragonair’s aura was a huge asset, as we’d be calmer and more lucid in the fight to come. Opponents were often surprised at Dragonair’s power, not expecting such a gentle creature to be so ruthless. She was, though, and she had gotten me out of tight spots in the past. Being the only Pokémon on my team - any of our teams - who could use water-type moves put unfair pressure on her, but things had worked out so far.

Dragonair slithered towards Ninetales and Houndoom, and the three of them touched noses before the dogs slunk into the woods.

That was it. Nothing to do now but hide and wait.

“Alakazam’s illusions aren’t holding,” said Julietta. “They must know to follow the dogs.” The barking grew louder, and we began to hear human voices as well. Cadney looked at me from the copse across the clearing where she was hiding with Rob. She didn’t blink.

“They know we’re expecting them,” said Julietta.

“Steady,” I said, as the voices grew louder, “Nothing we can do about it now.”

“Here they come,” said Julietta, and I saw the orange muzzle of a Houndour poke its head through the trees and into the open. I raised my fingers to my lips and whistled as loudly as I could. The pack of Houndour erupted in frantic barking, just as Ninetales and Houndoom unleashed a pair of flamethrower attacks in front of them. The Houndour were unfazed by the flames, but we could hear the cries of the trainers. That would slow them down, at least. But before I could feel too pleased, a funnel of water shot out from behind the Houndoom and doused the flames. Through the smoke, I saw the distinctive shape of a Wartortle’s head.

“Problem,” said Julietta.

“Maybe,” I said.

Houndoom and Ninetales lit a few more fires, but the Wartortle dealt with them.I whistled again, and they went after the Houndour instead. The Wartortle would have to be taken care of before Rhydon could engage. Our group had weaknesses, and water was one of them. We had ways to cope, however. I was more worried about our human enemies who, free from the danger of forest fires, were taking cover on the outskirts of the clearing opposite us.

The Wartortle kept Ninetales and Houndoom at bay with a series of Hydro Pumps, and I gritted my teeth when Ninetales was hit full in the chest by a powerful blast of water. Houndoom, leaping in front of the wild pack of Houndour, tore one to the ground with a powerful bite that bought the two of them enough time to retreat into the woods.

“Dragonair,” I said to the Pokémon, who was winding her way around a tree, “Thunder.”

She uncurled from the tree and lowered her head. I felt the tingling of static across my skin, and a moment later there was an ear-shattering boom that echoed through the clearing. I looked out from behind the tree to see the Wartortle kneeling in the dirt, the pack of Houndour surrounding it. As I watched, it got to its feet, seemingly no worse for wear.

“They’re boosting its special defense,” said Julietta. I nodded. Smart. Usually, even a powerful thundershock would be enough to take out a single Wartortle, but they must have pumped it full of stim-packs. Crude - and cruel - but effective.

“I don’t want Ninetales and Houndour getting too close,” I said. “We don’t know if they’ve augmented its attacks, either.”

“Confusion?” Julietta said. I shook my head. “Special defense. Thunder didn’t work, neither will confusion - and they’ll use the Houndour to block any psychic attacks. We’ll have to go physical.”

Julietta doesn’t like it when her team struggles. I can’t blame her – I don’t like the idea of Ninetales and Rapidash getting quenched by water types. Even though both of our teams were high-level enough that we didn’t have to worry about most battles, we still had no real idea what we were facing and I wanted to minimize injury if I could.

“If we can take out the turtle, we’ve got them,” I said, as Dragonair released another bolt of searing electricity into the air. Again, it had next to no effect on the wartortle.

“What a tank,” said Julietta, and she sounded impressed.

“And how do you take out a tank?” I said.

“Heavy artillery,” said Julietta, and then smiled a very pointy smile.

The Houndour had formed a protective ring around the Wartortle and were advancing across the clearing towards us. The humans were still out of sight, but I doubted they’d stay that way.

I whistled a third time, two sharp bursts, and waited. I could see the fire in the mouths of the Houndour, see the grim, confident set of the Wartortle’s beak. 

They should have stayed in the trees.

A huge red shape howled out of the sky and slammed into the back of the Wartortle, sending an explosion of dirt and rock into the air. Through the dust, I saw Braviary hurl himself aloft once more, the semi-conscious turtle gripped in his massive talons. It struggled, but Braviary was already hundreds of feet above the ground. There was no other Pokémon on my team as vindictive as Braviary, and he would be looking to even what he saw as a debt between him and the injured Ninetales, who was now panting at my side.

It was over.

“Now,” I called to Rob, and he pointed a finger towards the center of the clearing, where the Houndour were picking themselves up in the wake of Braviary’s impact. 

Rhydon stepped out from behind the trees. She raised a massive foot, and when she brought it down a tremor shook the ground and jagged shockwaves reached out towards the Houndour. They saw the attack too late, and could do nothing as the earth beneath them yawned open, crumbled under their unsteady feet and swallowed them in a crushing embrace. The world shook for a moment longer, and then all was silent.

High above us, Braviary released his catch, and Julietta didn’t blink as the Wartortle hit the ground with a sickening crunch. 

I looked across the clearing. The limbs of some of the Houndour were visible above the earth. Most of them would live, I assumed. Pokemon, especially dark-types, can take a lot of abuse. Much more than humans can. I wasn’t sure about the Wartortle. It was splayed out atop the rocks that had been exposed by Rhydon’s earthquake, and I could see that its shell had partially collapsed. The humans had disappeared.

We stayed very still. Braviary, circling overhead, let out a fierce cry.

“They’re retreating,” Julietta said, and waved across to Rob. He and Cadney stood and made their way towards us.

“They left their Pokémon?” said Julietta in disbelief.

“Come on,” I said, and walked out into the clearing. “Maybe we can find out who they are.”

“Niall, wait,” said Rob, as I left the cover of the trees. 

Two things happened in quick succession: I heard Braviary call again overhead, and something hit me in the shoulder. I stumbled backwards, feeling like I’d been kicked by Rapidash. I looked down, and below my left collarbone I saw a large red welt. Confused, I touched it. It was wet and warm. Blood. 

_My_ blood. 

I heard Julietta yelling, heard Dragonair roaring, and everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke to an unfamiliar ceiling. I blinked, tried to lift myself. A wave of nausea and a terrible pain in my chest pushed me back down, and I closed my eyes again, swallowing through a dry mouth. I felt a hand on my right arm.

“You’re awake,” said Julietta. She was here. That meant I was safe.

“Water,” I croaked, before I realized I was thirsty. Someone held a cup to my lips and I drank, most of the liquid spilling over my chin. I coughed. It hurt.

“Where am I?” I said, tilting my head towards Julietta’s hand and squinting.

“We’re south of Celadon City.” That was Rob. “At a place Cadney knows.”

“You’re with friends,” said a strange voice. 

I turned my head. A man was sitting next to Julietta, Cadney on his right. The sides of his head were shaved, and he had a wild black mohawk. Silver jewelry glinted in his ears, and he wore a black leather jacket trimmed with some sort of scaled skin.

I coughed again and winced, pain shooting through my chest and shoulder. Julietta offered me more water but I shook my head.

“My name’s Brad,” he said. “I’m an old friend of the professor. You’re in my lighthouse.”

“Lighthouse?”

“It’s a safe place,” he said. “Don’t worry. You need to rest, now.”

“What happened?” I said.

“You got yourself shot,” said Rob. “Sniper. They doubled back while we were talking and waited for us to show ourselves.”

“Sniper?” 

Rob pointed to the corner of the room, where I could see the long barrel of a heavy, black rifle.

“Braviary tried to warn me,” I said.

“Spotted the shooter,” said Rob.

I heard a coo, and turned my head towards the foot of the bed. Braviary was perched on the footboard, his bulk filling the room. He looked at me with one of his yellow eyes and cooed again. A strange sound, coming from a huge predator. I reached out a hand and he bent over and bit me gently. He was probably furious with himself. Ninetales sat next to him and stared at me, his head on the mattress.

“Not your fault,” I said, but he only ruffled his feathers. Ninetales let out a long huff through his nose. His jowls quivered. I tried not to laugh, and that hurt too.

“When they shot you,” said Julietta, “Dragonair went berserk. I’ve never seen anything like it. She followed Braviary into the woods before we could stop her, and by the time we caught up, well...” she trailed off. “Niall, she killed everyone. There weren’t even any bodies.”

“Dragon rage,” I said. I had only seen her use the attack once before, before Rob and I had met Julietta. Rapidash had been gored by a rabid Nidoking, and Dragonair left it, and its den, shattered beyond recognition.

“Ninetales wouldn’t let us near you at first, until Cadney pushed him away. He seems to like her.”

“He’s got good taste,” Rob said, and Cadney laughed. Ninetales growled in agreement.

“Niall,” said Julietta, “If the bullet a few inches to the left, you would be–”

“But I’m not,” I said.

“I know,” was all she said, and squeezed my arm.

“Everyone out,” said Rob, standing and putting his hand on Cadney’s shoulder. “Brad’s right. We need to let him sleep.”

“The Pokémon,” I started,

“Are fine,” said Cadney. “You’ll see them soon enough. Sleep.”

I nodded, my eyelids heavy. The last thing I felt was Julietta’s hand on my forehead.

***

“How is it that no one else got shot?” I said.I had finally gotten out of bed after a further two days of Julietta’s strictly-enforced rest, and was enjoying the feeling of sitting at a table and eating a real meal. My left arm was in a sling, and I slid my chair back carefully, trying not to jostle the wound.

“Barriers,” said Julietta. “They shot at us, but guns don’t work against psychic Pokémon.”

“Aren’t you smug,” said Rob, stabbing at his scrambled eggs with a gentle smile.

“Hardly,” she said, “all things considered. It’s just a fact.”

“And Braviary and Dragonair?” I didn’t like the thought of them attacking troops armed with guns.

Rob shook his head. “They were gone before we knew it. We heard shots, but there’s not a mark on them.” He locked eyes with me. I knew what he was thinking. Dragonair had done...something. Dratini were uncommon enough, but no one knew what encouraged them to evolve into Dragonair. I had never met another trainer with one.

“Even with the barriers,” he continued, “they had us pinned down. We probably wouldn’t have made it out without Dragonair and Braviary.”

“They can be…”

“Difficult to handle,” Rob finished for me. 

“Mmm,” I said, chewing.

“You lost a lot of blood,” said Julietta. “We were worried it was too much.”

“I’m stubborn,” I said, spooning cereal into my mouth, “Like my pokemon. You know that.” She smiled, but only for a moment.

“You’re also a fucking moron,” said Rob. “Running out of cover like that, without Braviary waiting to give the all clear? You deserved to get shot.”

I laughed. It felt good to laugh – except for the stabbing pain in my chest, so I tried to stop. But it did feel good to be sitting there with the two of them, to release some of the tension that had built up over the last week. Rob laughed too, and pretty soon we were all laughing for no reason except that we needed to.

Brad stuck his head in the room.

“Your horse is waiting for you,” he said.I hadn’t been outside since I arrived at the lighthouse, and all I had done that morning was spend a couple of hours being attended to by the professor, who changed my bandages and put me in the sling.

I stood. Rapidash would be worried, and as I followed Brad out the door of the ground floor of the lighthouse I heard an expectant whinny. Brad busied himself in a small garden.

“Hey,” I said, hugging her long nose with one arm while trying to avoid getting nuzzled in the gunshot wound. “I heard you carried me here. Thanks.” She snorted at me. Rob had told me that Rapidash had carried Cadney and me, accompanied by Ninetales and Dragonair, all the way to the lighthouse, while he and Julietta followed behind.

“Here,” I said, and offered her an apple. She munched it while I rubbed her between her long ears.

Cadney opened the door and stood on the doorstep.

“Thank you too, Professor,” I said. “It sounds like you saved my life.”

“The Pokémon saved your life,” she said, waving a hand. “Alakazam removed the bullet with telekinesis and all I had to do was keep you from bleeding out.”

“I’m glad you managed,” I said, “I owe you.”

“Absolutely not,” she said. “Without the three of you, I would have met the same fate as Aurea.”

We still didn’t know what had happened to the professor, and none of us knew how to find out. The way Cadney said it didn’t fill me with hope.

“They were trying to kill us,” Rob said, emerging with the professor. “Right off the bat.”

I nodded. “It tells us a lot,” I said. “They knew we were running from them, which means they’ll know we have the Fuel.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone left to report what they saw, or who we are” he said. 

“Says the same thing,” I said. “You can’t hide the damage we did to the forest, and taking out that team of...whatever they were is practically the same thing as shouting ‘We’ve got it!’”

“True,” said Rob, “but they don’t know who we are or where we went.”

“Are we certain?”

“We’re certain,” said Brad, kneeling in the dirt. “Almost no one even knows I live here, and this part of the coast is totally empty.” He stood.“The bigger question is how they knew you’d be in Silver Town in the first place.”

“I’m starting to feel like Julietta,” I said. “They, they, they. Who are they?”

“Oh, that’s right,” said Rob, “you haven’t seen it yet.”

“Seen what,” I said, but he opened the door and went back aside, appearing a minute later with a scrap of black fabric.

“A piece of a uniform,” he said. “The biggest one we could find, after...well.”

He passed it to me. On top of the black fabric was a circular black patch. It was totally plain, with no insignia or crest upon it.

“That’s who they are.” 

I looked at him. “And you know what this means?”

“Not a clue. You?”

“Of course not.”

“Neither does anyone else.”

“So we still know nothing,” I said.

“Not quite. We know they’re organized.”

“We knew that already.”

“We know they’re merciless.”

“And that.”

“We know they really want that lump of metal.”

“That, too.”

“So we do know something,” he said. “A well-organized, well-equipped, merciless team of murderers really wants Aurea’s rock, and they’re very happy to kill us in order to get it.”

“Wonderful.”

“And we know she didn’t want them to have it.”

“I don’t think I want them to have it, either,” said Cadney. 

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Think about it,” she said. “They killed Yew, they may have killed Aurea, and they tried their best to kill all of us as well, just to get their hands on it. That, and there’s been no mention of any of this in the news. Brad told me,” she said, when I looked at her quizzically. “That they’re keeping it quite somehow. Aurea’s disappearance, that is - and there have been no reports of disturbances outside Silver Town. On top of that, I’m ninety-nine percent certain that the lump of rock they’re after is an ancient form of powerful, weaponizable matter. Given all of that, do you want to give it to them, even without knowing who they are?”

“I tend to avoid doing favors for people who try to kill me,” I said. 

“So,” said Brad, looking at all of us, “What are you going to do with it?”

“Not a clue,” I said. “OK. Time for me to talk to Dragonair.” 

The other three nodded and trooped back inside. I hadn’t seen Dragonair since waking. Rapidash snorted again and turned away, busying herself with the long grass around Brad’s garden.

I walked around the base of the lighthouse, looking up at its strange shape. It was the first time I had seen it from the outside. The room I had been sleeping in was on the second floor, and Brad had said there were four floors – five including the massive light at the top that he kept lit every night. As I rounded the building and reached the edge of the cliff it sat upon, I could see why it was needed. The ocean greeted me, and stretching out into the water was a long, jagged fang of sharp rocks, against which grey-green waves crashed. 

A chill wind gusted up the cliff, and I pulled the shawl that Brad had lent me closer around my neck. Even south of Celadon City, the weather was turning. I stood on the edge of the precipice, looking out across the whitecaps. From the right, I heard a soft crooning. Dragonair drifted up from below my feet and hung in the air before me. Her wings were extended, and she hovered in the breeze. Her body shone blue against the ocean behind her, and the comfortable pulse of her aura eased the pain in my shoulder somewhat.

I sat down carefully, and Dragonair swirled through the air towards me, curling around my body and laying her head on my shoulder.

“Hey, I said, leaning my head against hers. She crooned again.

“Thank you,” I said, “for saving all of us.” Her body pulsed, but she lowered her head and avoided my eyes.

“You kept those people from killing our friends,” I told her. “Rob and Jules know that. They’re just surprised.” I had heard the fear in the voices of Rob and Julietta when they spoke of Dragonair’s rampage, and I was sure she had seen it too. She burrowed her head in my armpit, purring unhappily.

“I promise. They think of you as a friend, the same way that Ninetales, Rapidash and Braviary do.” I knew that much was true, and I also knew that all of our Pokémon treated Dragonair with a love and respect that bordered on awe. Ever since she had come into our life as a Dratini, she had both amazed and puzzled us. She was ethereal, unknowable, almost unattached to the world the rest of us inhabited.

“I promise,” I said again, and turned my head at the sound of footsteps. Julietta stood behind us, her hands behind her back. Her bright green eyes were on the horizon, her long hair tossing behind her in the wind.

“It’s beautiful here, so far from everything,” she said. “Peaceful.”

“Wish we could stay. Seems to be plenty of room for all of us.”

“Do you really?” She didn’t look at me. “You’d forget about Aurea, forget about everything?” 

I didn’t answer.

“I don’t think you could stay in one place for more than a month, even if you tried.”

“You flatter me.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I couldn’t either. Not yet, at least. The professor was a friend.”

I wasn’t sure when we had come to the unspoken agreement that Aurea was dead. But after meeting the people who I assumed had also gotten to her I didn’t feel very optimistic, and it didn’t sound like Rob or Julietta did either.

“I guess we’re all stubborn,” I said. “Probably too stubborn.”

She nodded. “Probably.” Finally, Dragonair lifted her head and looked sideways at Julietta, who stepped forward and crushed her head in an embrace. She closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath.

“Without you, we would have...Niall would have...” She trailed off and Dragonair’s glow exploded, enveloping us both in soothing light. We sat there together for I don’t know how long, enjoying the simple comfort of our closeness, until Rob found us and, smiling, said that Brad wanted to talk. 

He patted Dragonair on the head as she unwound herself from Julietta and me, and grinned.

“The hero of the day,” he said. “I owe you one. More than one, probably.”

“See?” I said. Dragonair hummed and unfurled her small wings, lifting off into the air once more. We left her there, floating on the briny air that whispered up the cliff, and walked back into the lighthouse as the sun dipped towards the horizon.

***

“I’ve been thinking,” Brad told us. The five of us were crowded around the dinner table, sitting underneath the glow of a single bulb.“And I have a suggestion.”

Ninetales lay at my feet, sleeping. Espeon slept on Julietta’s lap, and Rob’s Sandslash lay rolled up in a ball in front of Brad’s fireplace.

“You can’t go anywhere until you’re at least somewhat healed,” said Brad, “which Cadney tells me will take another ten days at least. But after that, you’ll need to make some decisions. I can hide you for that long, but hiding here doesn’t accomplish anything and you can’t do it forever.”

Rob nodded. “We need to find out what’s going on.”

“And who it is who wants the Fuel. And wants us dead,” said Julietta.

“And we need to find Aurea,” I said. If she’s still alive.

“Right. And to do any of those things, you’re going to have to ask some questions.”

“Seems like everyone who’s attached to this thing has a good chance of winding up dead,” said Rob. “Talking to people might just put them, and us, in danger.”

“Even so,” said Brad, “If you don’t find out who’s hunting you and how to get rid of them, you’ll be running forever. Cadney and I will do our best from here, but I think it’s time that the three of you went back to where this began.”

“Unova,” said Julietta. “The ruins.”

“Yes,” said Brad, “exactly.”

“That’s a long trip,” said Rob, stroking his chin.

“We’ll have to fly,” I said.

“Aurea said to stay away from airports,” said Julietta.

“I don’t see that we’ve got much choice,” I said. 

“Brad’s right, though” Rob said, “and this is already a disaster. We might as well get some answers. We can deal with an airport.”

“Can we? Even if it means risking our lives?” said Julietta.

“I’m not doing anything else these days,” said Rob.

“If there’s a chance Aurea’s still alive, we have to find her,” I said. “I owe her.”

“We know,” said Julietta, and rubbed her eyes with her hand. “God. If you two morons are actually going to go through with this, there’s no way I’m letting you leave without me.”

“You sure? There’s no reason for you to come,” I said.

“Of course there is,” she said, crossing her arms. “You and Rob are the worst spies I can imagine, and if you’re looking for answers you’re going to need my help.”

“Hey,” said Rob, “I’m stealthy.”

“Shut up. I’m coming. That’s that.”

I wasn’t about to argue with her. I couldn’t think of two people I’d rather have my back – or who I’d rather share a campfire with, for that matter.

“Braviary and Skarmory can carry you, can’t they?” said Cadney.

“Across the ocean? No, and anyway, there are three of us. We’ll have to find an airplane.”

“That’s settled then,” Brad said. “I can help you get to Unova, and you can forget about the airplane.”

“How’s that?” said Rob

Brad’s smile revealed a lot of teeth. “I’ve got someone I’d like you to meet.”


	5. Chapter 5

“There’s a reason I live alone out here,” said Brad.   
  
The wind whistled up the cliff, and Brad pointed over the bluff where we stood in a loose group. Glinting in the dusky sun, we saw a jagged, yellow shape flying low over the waves. My skin began to tingle, the way it did when Dragonair used Thunder.

Seconds later, a creature out of legend settled to the ground at the edge of the cliff.

“Is that...” Julietta started.

“It’s real,” I breathed. “I can’t believe it.”

A massive bird stood before us, its orange dagger-beak dark against the brilliant gold of its feathers. Electricity crackled over its body and it stared at us out of ancient black eyes.

“Zapdos,” said Brad, “One of the Three.”

Rob didn’t speak. Cadney only smiled.

I struggled to find words. The Pokémon was no taller than I was, and yet we cowered before it. The smell of ozone hung in the air. The bird was silent. Watchful.

“How?” I asked, finding my voice.

“We go back a long time,” said Brad. “The sea is her home, and she keeps an eye on the coastline. The lighthouse had been empty for years, and it was Zapdos who did her best to keep the ships off the rocks until I arrived. Made for a lot of tall tales, though – haunted lighthouses and flying ghosts and all that.”

“No,” he said, as I opened my mouth to ask, “I didn’t catch her. And she’s never been inside a pokeball. She’s freer than you or I, that’s for sure. In a way.”

I felt the tingle of static along my body as Zapdos turned its gaze upon me. I stared back into its deep black eyes and saw something primeval and unknowable. I looked away.

“She’ll take Julietta,” said Brad, “If Braviary and Skarmory are up for the flight. Shall we introduce them?”

Braviary and Skarmory were already floating down to meet us. They landed in front of Zapdos, their eyes on the ground. It – she, Brad had said – opened her beak and clacked at them. Her low cry boiled in the air, and in its rumble I heard the sound of thunder, the sharp hiss of electricity, and the crashing of the waves. Skarmory cawed once in response, bobbing her head up and down before stepping forward tentatively. Zapdos leaned forward, and there was a loud crack as the two of them touched beaks. 

Braviary followed suit, but kept his head held high the entire time. Zapdos flapped her wings twice, blowing him backwards and off balance. Then she dropped her head and made a rumbling sound deep in her chest. I had the feeling she was laughing. Even so, she dipped her beak and the two of them greeted one another. Then she turned her eyes towards Julietta, who took a step back.

“You said...I...Me...Why me?”

“She’ll carry you on her back, just like Braviary would,” said Brad.

“But,” said Julietta, “Um.”

Zapdos was staring at her, eyes unblinking.

“Hello,” said Julietta, “I, ah, I’m...Julietta. You can - you can call me Jules, if you like.”

“Hold out your hand,” said Brad, and Julia did as he said, reaching out a trembling palm.

Zapdos hopped forward again and pushed her cheek into Julietta’s palm. Julietta gasped, and dropped to her knees.

“Jules,” I said, stepping forward, but she held up a hand to stop me.

“I’m fine. I just...wasn’t ready. It’s like when I touched the Fuel.” After a moment she found her feet, lifted her hand again and rested it on Zapdos’ jagged brow. I tensed as she touched the bird, but she didn’t fall.

“So much power,” Julietta whispered. “She’s so old. The things she’s seen...”

“Old,” said Brad, “and lonely.” Zapdos clacked at him, but he laughed. “It’s the only reason she pays any attention to me.”

“Does that mean that all of the Legendary Birds are real?” I asked.

Julietta’s hand was still on Zapdos.

“Images,” she said, without looking at us, “and feelings. Oh, Niall, it’s incredible.”

“How is it that she agreed to carry Julietta?” I asked.

“She’s the one who offered,” said Brad. “Called to me while you were still sleeping.”

Zapdos eyed me again, but this time I held her gaze. She dipped her beak once in what I hoped was approval, and flicked her attention back to Julietta.

“Three days,” said Brad. “That’s how long it will take you to get to Unova.”

“Three days?” said Rob. “That’s impossible. Braviary and Skarmory can’t make it over the ocean without a break, especially not while carrying us.”

“They’ll be able to,” said Brad. “Zapdos will see to that.” 

I looked over. Braviary and Skarmory had their chest puffed out, and they did indeed seem to be standing a bit taller than I remembered.

“Unova it is,” I said, and then paused. “In ten days.”

Brad told us to leave Julietta with Zapdos, and the three of us went inside for dinner.

“Will she be alright out there?” I asked.

Brad pursed his lips. “More or less,” he said.

I stopped. “More or less?”

“Touching Zapdos does different things to different people. The only other person who’s met her is Cadney. Julietta’s reaction will depend on who she is.”

Rob perked up. “You knew?” he asked the professor.

“I knew,” she said. “Brad and I have a long history.” She caught Rob’s eye. “Not that kind of history,” she said.

“Julietta will be fine,” Brad said. “Zapdos suggested it, and there’s no evil in her heart, or in mine.”

“What do you mean, ‘change a person?’” I said.

“Just to come into contact with a being so old,” said Cadney, “is quite the shock. It makes the universe seem a bit bigger. At least, that’s how I felt.”

Julietta was quiet during dinner; introspective. She retired early, and I left her alone. Rob and Cadney were laughing in the kitchen, and so I sat with Brad at the funny, circular dinner table in the center of the lighthouse’s ground floor.

“Ten days,” I said, thinking out loud.

“Ten days,” Brad agreed.

“We haven’t ever done anything like this before.” He only nodded.

I thought about crossing the ocean, accompanied by a mythical beast, on our way to a foreign land where – if things went well – we’d find ourselves face to face with a group of bloodthirsty murderers. Now that my blood had settled a bit, it sounded ridiculous. Even Zapdos had seemed unreal in the dying light of dusk. Maybe I had imagined the whole thing.

I shook my head. Brad looked at me.

“We’ve run delicate packages for the professor before, but that was corporate stuff. Not-quite-espionage, just quiet trips. Yeah, we’ve been shot at a few times before, we’ve had to fight of thugs, and we’ve even seen some people die.” I wasn’t sure why I was telling him. He stayed quiet and listened.

“Once, in Ecruteak,” I said, “the three of us got into a crazy bar fight. We hadn’t been together for that long; just stopping by so that Rob could take care of some business at home, and he took us out drinking. We do that a lot. Still young, I guess. Someone ticked Julietta off and she put him in the hospital. Wound up in jail for a night, all of us. Rob was flirting with the Ecruteak Jenny the whole time, through the bars.” I laughed. “That was one of the best nights of my life.”

I paused for a moment. The lighthouse groaned as the ocean wind pushed against it.

“I don’t want anything to happen to them.” Sitting in the brightly-lit dining room of the lonely lighthouse, the world outside had started to seem very big and very scary.

“Then don’t let it,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Does that hurt?” he said, pointing at my shoulder.

There was an ugly, puckered scar forming where Cadney had stitched my gunshot wound together, and every time I sat down too heavily or stretched my left arm too far in its sling it pulled painfully.

“Yeah. I guess I got lucky.”

“It wasn’t ‘luck’ that saved your life after you were shot. It was your friends and your Pokémon.”

“You heard Julietta. A couple of inches to the left and that bullet would have killed me. There’s no bone damage. It’s a clean wound. I got lucky.”

“Could have killed you, but didn’t. Can’t change that, but there are some things you can. You say you don’t want anything to happen to your friends, so don’t let anything happen to them.”

“But it could have been Julietta who walked out and ended up shot, and maybe the sniper wouldn’t have missed.”

“Enough with the ‘could haves.’ You can’t control everything. There are always risks. Every day you wake up, you take risks, even if you don’t think about it. But you control what you can. The three of you are smart. And more importantly, you trust each other. If you want to keep each other safe, you will.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Of course it’s not, but you wouldn’t have made it this far if you were incompetent. You wouldn’t have Pokémon who trust you if you weren’t worthy of their friendship. All I’m saying is, don’t underestimate the power of the human will.”

“You sound like one of those moralizers at the old temples.” 

He laughed. “Being scared is good. It’s healthy. It makes you careful. It keeps you smart. But self-doubt gets you nowhere, and it sure as hell won’t keep you safe. What will keep you safe is your desire to protect each other. We all get lucky. It’s what you do after that’s important.”

I thought for a minute.

“Do you know anything about these ruins?” 

“I’ve traveled through the Unova deserts,” he said, “Once. But that was eighty years ago. Long before Yew began his excavation. The desert is a harsh place. It’s wild out there; wild and empty. I’m sure Cadney can tell you more than I can about what you’ll find.”

“Eighty years ago?” I looked at Brad. He didn’t appear any older than I was. “How old are you?”

Brad smiled. “Old,” he said, with unmistakable finality. “Check in on Julietta before you go to bed. I don’t want her getting herself lost, alone in that room. She still has a lot to do.”

“Lost?”

He made a face. “Has Julietta ever done anything...strange?”

I didn’t have to think for very long. “Well, she’s telepathic,” I said. “At least, with her pokemon. I’ve known that for a long time. But when we were at Cadney’s lab, she levitated her pokeballs without thinking about it. Lifted them, I mean, with her mind.”

Brad nodded. 

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I’m not. It’s why Zapdos is fixated on her.”

“Fixated?”

Brad sighed, and rubbed his eyes with one hand.

“Julietta’s something special. Zapdos knows it, and that’s why she wants to carry Julietta.”

“Do you know why she can do the things she does?”

“You’ve never asked?”

“Not really.” Julietta had never wanted to talk about her past, and for the first time I wished that I had pressed her. “Hold on,” I said, “What did you mean, ‘lost?’”

Brad stood, pushing his chair back. “Just make sure she comes back, and she’ll be fine,” he said, and smiled. “Good night.”

***

A few minutes later, I wandered up the stairs to the third floor, where Julietta’s room was. I knocked on her door, but there was no answer.

“Julietta?” I said. “You in there?”

Nothing. My heart jumped. I put my ear against the door. There was no sound. Just the dull roar of wind and wave that permeated the lighthouse.

“Jules? I’m coming in.” I opened the door.

She sat on her bed, staring out of the open window that overlooked the ocean. The wind blew through it as I entered, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Jules?” I said, walking over to the bed. I put my hand on her shoulder. “Anyone home?”

“Oh, hello, Niall,” she said, looking up and smiling through me. “I was just thinking.”

I sat down on the bed.

“What about?”

She turned back to the window and stared into the night. At first she didn’t respond, and I wondered if she had heard me.

“I saw such beautiful things. Such sad, sad things. She’s so old, Niall. So lonely. She made me feel lonely, too.”

Julietta shivered. The breeze was chilly, and smelled of salt.

“Shall I close it?”

“No,” she said. And then added, “I like the fresh air.”

“Let me get you a blanket, then.”

“I’m fine,” she said, “really.”

We sat together for a moment.

“Hey,” she said, “watch this.”

I looked across the room where she pointed, and jumped slightly when I saw a chair hanging in the air by itself.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No need to be sorry,” I said. “Is this a new thing?”

Julietta sighed. “No. It’s not routine, but it’s been happening since I was little. Sometimes, when I was young, I’d lose concentration, or get mad, and I’d do something...weird. Now it’s easier.”

“Now?”

“Just in the last couple of hours, since I touched Zapdos.” She sounded hesitant. “It’s like something inside of me is awake all of a sudden. I don’t even have to think about it. I just look at something and it does what I want it to do. I don’t know what’s happening, but my fingers are tingling. I’m…scared.”

It was the first time I’d ever heard Julietta talk about her childhood, and the first time I’d ever even heard her even say the word ‘scared.’

“Brad says you’ll be fine,” I offered. It didn’t sound very reassuring.

She nodded. I felt useless.

“Did I ever tell you that my parents abandoned me?” she said. “I never knew them. I grew up in foster care. In the gyms.”

I let out a breath and slumped back onto the bed. The ceiling was a strange patchwork of paneled tile and concrete. Probably the result of years and years of repairs.

“You’re not alone, Jules,” I said. “Me and Rob, we’re here too. Don’t listen to that stupid bird. Don’t get lost.”

“Even if I’m creepy? Even if I can levitate chairs?”

“Very useful for seating arrangements,” I said.

Julietta laughed, and a weight lifted.

“It’s not Zapdos’ fault,” she said. “Just meeting her makes you feel alone, I think.”

I smiled.

“Remember when we were in Sinnoh?” I said. “And we got stuck in the blizzard?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“And how huge and scary that mountain was?”

“Yeah.”

“And how we made it anyway?”

“Yeah.”

“The world might be big, Jules, but we’re not that small.”

She was quiet for a moment.

“Unova’s pretty far away,” she said.

“It is,” I said.

“And I’m scared.”

“So am I.”

“Really scared.”

“Rob probably is too.”

“He’s never scared.”

“You didn’t know him at the Academy. He’s grown up a lot.”

“You think he’s grown-up now? That’s a terrifying thought.”

I laughed. That sounded more like the Julietta I knew.

“I’m sure he’s as scared as the two of us.”

“If he’s smart, he is.”

“He’s smart.”

“I know. I just like to make fun of him.”

“I know. He knows, too.”

Julietta shivered again. I scooted closer to her.

“Niall,” she said, “promise me you won’t die.”

I was silent for a minute.

“I promise.”

*******

Rob and I ate breakfast together the next day. Julietta was still asleep, and Cadney and Brad were out on the cliffs. I poked at an omelet with my fork while Rob played with an empty water glass.

“What d’you make of this?” he asked.

“It’s all insane. Which part, specifically?”

“Brad. Zapdos.”

“Not sure. He certainly knows how to avoid a question.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking.”

“Cadney says she trusts him, though.”

“Do we?”

“I don’t know that I like what he has to say about Zapdos and Julietta. He also seemed pretty set on getting us to Unova. I also don’t know if we really have a choice. It’s not like he’s wrong.”

“Zapdos. Now that is crazy. A legendary bird?”

“Brad told me there was a reason it – she – was ‘fixated’ on Jules.”

“Oh?”

“Failed to elaborate on what that reason is, though. Something about –well, you know.”

“The mind stuff.”

“Right. Said he crossed the desert eighty years ago.”

“Eighty?”

“Eighty. There’s a lot he’s not telling us.” I sighed. “And not much we can do about it.”

“So we go.”

“We go.”

“And we do it smart.”

“Like always.”

He nodded and stood as his glass wobbled in a circle. 

“I guess it’s no stranger than the last few days have been.”

“Guess not. But the last few days have been pretty damn strange.”

“Agreed. I’m going to go check on the Pokemon.” He left me alone at the table, replaying Brad’s words in my head.

The next ten days passed without incident. We planned, and plotted, and even schemed. I kept my shoulder as still as possible, and Cadney said it was healing well.

“I’ll take the stitches out the day before you leave, but you won’t be back to a hundred percent for a long while yet. Take it easy if you can.”

“Will do,” I said, wondering how I was going to take it easy while crossing the ocean on Braviary’s back. Cadney didn’t offer any further advice. We hadn’t spoken about the trip since we decided on it, only what to do once we got there, and the idea of spending a full three days in the air seemed ludicrous.

“And keep it in the sling until you get to Unova.”

“Right.” Again, that seemed impossible.

Cadney sighed. “And don’t get shot again.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Julietta spent most of the days on the cliff, looking out across the water. She and Zapdos met a few more times before we left, but she seemed to be back to her usual self, for which I was glad. Brad had said he wasn’t sure what would happen when she crossed the ocean on the great bird’s back, and that had me worried. The look in her eyes after the first time they’d met had scared me. I thought I had an idea of what Brad meant about her getting lost, and I didn’t want it to happen.

Finally, the day arrived. We met outside after breakfast. Cadney had removed the stitches the evening before, but I kept my arm in the sling like she said. Zapdos was waiting us beside the cliff, and Skarmory and Braviary stood beside her. We’d fed the Pokémon that morning, and they were all back in stasis on our belts. All that was left to do was leave.

“Three days across the sea,” Brad said as we readied ourselves. We had made ourselves harnesses of a sort, out of some nylon webbing Brad had given us. It wasn’t much, but it would keep us from falling. No one had explained to me how we were supposed to sleep.

“Zapdos will lead the way,” he continued. “She’ll take you to the edge of the desert.”

“She won’t be seen?” I asked.

“Not unless she wants to be.”

“Good enough,” said Rob. “Ready, Skarmory?”

Skarmory lifted her head high and cawed, and Braviary answered.

“Leave it to the Pokémon,” Brad said. “They’ll get you there.”

I nodded. “Thanks for everything,” I said.

“Of course,” he said. “And we’ll be in touch.”

“Professor,” I said, nodding to her, “Thanks for all your help. We’ll see you soon.”

“Be careful,” she said to me, “and find Aurea.”

Rob, Julietta and I said goodbye to Brad, and then Rob walked over to the professor. Instead of saying anything, she grabbed his shirt collar and they shared a deep, long kiss. 

“When,” Julietta asked, raising her eyebrows, “did that happen?”

“I knew it,” I said.

Cadney gave us a look that could only be described as a smirk, and then turned back to Rob. “Stay safe out there. And don’t let him do anything stupid,” she said to Skarmory, who bobbed her head.

For once, Rob didn’t make a joke.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, and she nodded.

“Of course you will,” she said.

“Well,” said Julietta, as Rob walked back to join us, “who would have guessed?”

“Not me,” said Rob, “but I hear that’s how it goes.”

We stepped to the edge of the cliff. 

“Ready?” I asked.

“Ready,” said Rob, mounting Skarmory.

Julietta was already sitting astride Zapdos, who stared at us without blinking. “Ready,” she said.

“You ready, Braviary?” I said. He only eyed me. Haughty bird. “Well then.” I looked at Zapdos. She spread her massive wings, and the three of us fell towards the restless waves.


	6. Chapter 6

I don’t remember much about the next seventy-two hours. The world streamed by below us, and the only sound was the whistling of the wind and the flapping of Braviary’s wings. Zapdos lead us, Rob and I following in her wake, and it was if she pulled us along behind her. We must have slept, but I have no memory of it. We never once stopped flying, despite the thousands of miles we journeyed, and never once did the clouds close over our heads, trailing instead behind us, alive. They kept us hidden from below, and I supposed that was Zapdos’ doing as well.

Conversation was impossible. I never asked what went through the heads of Rob and Julietta as we crossed the empty ocean, but in the crackling wake of the bird my mind was full of vastness and the beating of my own heart. I thought about myself, I thought about my family, I thought about my past. I thought about my friends. I thought about Julietta. Something had changed between Cadney’s lab and our departure from the lighthouse, and I wasn’t sure I understood it. Rob, too, had seemed different when we left, standing taller and prouder.Perhaps we really were older than we had been when we’d met. The lighthouse was a strange place, I thought, and I found the time to wonder who Brad was.

On the afternoon of the third day, the land that had appeared beneath us that morning grew larger and more detailed as Zapdos led us in a spiral down, down, down. The temperature rose as we descended, and at last we settled to the ground in an empty scrubland. No one spoke. It felt sacrilegious to break the silence that had stretched for three days. Even the birds were still, the six of us breathing in the dry air. It smelled hot.We had landed to the west of Route Four, just north of Castelia City.Scrubland.Low bushes were the only vegetation that surrounded us, but it was a long ways until the dunes began. We planned to supply in the city before taking Route Four into the desert proper. 

Zapdos made to take off again. Julietta didn’t speak, but touched the bird once more, and watched her until she disappeared once more into the strange clouds that had obscured our journey. The haze of heat and the prickle of static made my vision bow out at the sides, as though I was watching life through a screen. Again I wondered if I hadn’t imagined the whole trip. 

We shouldered our gear without speaking, and started off to the South.Ninetales and Houndoom padded in front of us, at home in the baking sun. The birds rested in stasis.

I took my place to Rob’s left, and Julietta led the way onto the short stretch of Route Four that would take us into Castelia. As we began to see more and more people, the feeling of unreality that had permeated our voyage and arrival began to fade, and we picked our heads up and began to feel livelier. Finally, I walked up next to Julietta and broke the hush.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I can still feel her.”

“Feel her?”

“Where she is. How she’s feeling. What she’s experiencing.” She looked back in the direction that Zapdos had flown. “It’s like we’re still connected. She’s flying even faster, now. Look.” 

She held out a hand to me, and when I reached out to touch it a spark of electricity snapped in the still air. I jerked my hand back.

“Lingering effects,” said Julietta. “I feel…stronger.” She sounded sad. I grabbed her hand and smiled, held it up in the air.

“Doesn’t bother me. I always said you had an electric personality.”

Julietta groaned. “No you didn’t. You had three days to think, and that’s the best you can come up with?”

“I’m shockingly bright,” I said. “And my batteries feel fully charged after that flight. I’m surging with - Ow!“

Julietta shoved me off the path, laughing.

“Have a care for my heroic injury!”

“Hey, morons,” Rob said. “I’m thirsty. Time for a water break.”

***

“We should stop at the Pokémon center,” Rob said as we entered the city.Skyscrapers loomed over us, and the roar of traffic was jarring after the silence of the skies and of the scrubland.

“I thought you and Cadney had something special,” I said, laughing, “but the truth is revealed. You’re planning to return to your old ways, aren’t you? You just want to flirt with Nurse Joy.”

“Slander!” he yelled into the sky. “Baseless lies!”

“Oh?”

“Mostly.”

We still needed supplies for our time in the desert. We didn’t know what we’d find there, or even how long we’d be gone. We’d be able to fill up on water at the small resupply station on the edge of the dunes, where tourists ambled about without daring to head too far into the sands, but we had come straight from Kanto and needed a complete re-outfit. 

We found a seedy hotel in Castelia City – the seediest we could find. We paid in cash, and gave invented names. One disgusting room, but it was enough for our purposes. We’d only be there for the night. Packs in hand, we set out in search of clothing fit for the desert. 

“Do you think this was the right choice?” asked Juliette from inside a changing room, before emerging in lightweight pants and a loose, hooded white top.

“Which part?” said Rob, comparing boots.

“We don’t really know what we’re doing here,” she said, “and assuming we do find whoever it is that’s looking for us – ”

“The Patches,” I offered.

“Whatever. How do we know they have Aurea? She might still be in Kanto, if she’s still alive.”

“This might sound crazy,” I said, “but I don’t think Zapdos and Brad would have suggested coming all the way here if they didn’t think it would be worth it.”

Julietta was quiet. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to discuss Zapdos. Maybe she hadn’t quite come back to us after we landed.

“That’s a hell of a lot of faith in a pair of total strangers,” said Rob. “But for now, I think you’re right. Listen. This is bigger than Aurea, now. Bigger than us. That Fuel that’s back at the lighthouse, that’s dangerous stuff if Cadney is right – and there are dangerous people who want it.”

I was relieved that I was no longer carrying the Fuel in my pack. It was a scary thought, to be carting around the junk that was maybe used to more or less destroy the world once upon a time. Cadney and Brad – and Zapdos, I imagined – would keep it safe while we did the field work.

“She’s probably right,” I said. “She doesn’t strike me as a woman who’s often wrong.”

“You get the feeling we drew the short straw,” said Rob, “out here in Unova looking for organized killers while Brad and Cadney hole up in a cozy lighthouse with a legendary pokemon for a bodyguard?”

“You’re just jealous you’re not the one doing the holing up with her,” said Julietta. 

Back to normal again, I thought, and laughed. “How exactly did that come about?”

Rob shrugged. “Like I said, it just kind of happened.” He thought for a second. “I imagine my rugged good looks and roguish charm proved irresistible.”

“Such a romantic,” said Julietta. “What you’re trying to say is that you can’t imagine why she likes you, right?”

“Right. But hey,” he said, turning serious. “I told her I’d be back, and I’m not one to break my word.So no risks. Understood?I plan to see this through.”

“Wow, what a gentleman,” said Julietta. “What did you do with Rob?”

“I, for one,” I said, “am very happy for both of you.”

“And I am too,” said Julietta. “Really,” she added when Rob eyed her. “Now, how does this poncho-thing look on me? Like it’ll stop a sandstorm?”

“You look like an elf,” Rob said.

“Or a bipedal tent,” I said.

“Or maybe a witch,” Rob said.

“Sounds perfect,” she said, “I’ll take two.”

Half an hour later we walked out of the store with a selection of gear that would hopefully keep us from dying of heatstroke, sunstroke, sandstroke, and whatever other delights the desert held in store, and once back in our shitty little room, we sorted our supplies. It was a four-day trek out to the excavation site, and most of the weight we brought with us would be water. Even Rapidash would be carrying an extra pack stuffed full of collapsible water bags this time. Once we were out in the sands, Rob’s Pokémon would be our only chance at finding water, should we need it. We weren’t taking any chances - always carry twice as much water as you think you’ll need when you’re in the desert, Brad had told us.

Aside from water, we were traveling light. No tents, just lightweight sleeping sacks and a few changes of clothes. The rest was food and field kits for us and the Pokémon.Some of them would hunt, but others, like Rapidash, Rhydon and Dragonair, would be depending on us for food. High-protein bars, jerky, nuts, dried fruits.If Ninetales and Houndoom could catch us fresh meat, so much the better.

We didn’t talk much as we packed. Maybe we’d used up all our good humor in the dressing rooms. Still, I think we all felt happy to be together on the road again, just the three of us. Even if things weren’t really back to normal – might never be back to normal, I thought, keeping an eye on Julietta – it was relaxing.We’d been through a lot in the last few weeks. The tiny, shitty hotel room was the last calm port before we hurled ourselves into a storm. 

***

The inside of the reasonably-busy Pokemon Center in Castelia City looked just like every other Pokemon Center in Kanto. Guess that’s what mass-production gets you. We had stopped in to give our Pokemon one last boost before we headed into the desert, and were planning on picking up all the potions and other equipment we’d need but hadn’t been able to find at the shops the day before.

After making our purchases at the adjoining PokeMart, we walked over to Nurse Joy, gave her our Pokemon, and said Hello to an Officer Jenny as she walked in the door. She greeted us in return, and then took a second look at us.

“Greetings, travelers,” she said, with the boisterous good nature that all the Jennies show. “What brings you to Castelia City?”

“We’re headed to the Desert Resort,” I said. “Always wanted to see the ruins.”

Nurse Joy returned our pokeballs and I released Ninetales, who was no doubt ready for some air.

“I’m sorry to be the one to give you bad news, but that area is currently off limits,” Jenny said. “Now, if you leave your names, I can contact you for tour options once the ruins reopen for visitors.”

We exchanged glances. 

“Why is it off limits?” 

“It has been designated as a site of historical importance. No unauthorized visitors are allowed. Your names, please?”

“Joe,” I said. “My friends are Stacy and...Paul. We’re tourists from Kanto. Aren’t we, Ninetales?”

Ninetales smiled and yipped once. Jenny narrowed her eyes at him.

“Ninetales,” said Joy, from behind the desk. It was a statement of fact. Her voice held none of the friendliness it had when we’d entered.

“Ninetales,” agreed Jenny, suddenly emotionless. She met the nurse’s eyes, then took a step towards us.

“When did you arrive?” she asked.

“Last night,” I said. “We hiked in on Route Four.”

Jenny was still staring at Ninetales, who was no longer giving her his happy fox smile.

“Your names please,” she said.

“Joe,” I said again. 

“Joe, I am going to need you to show me the rest of your Pokemon.” Her tone was dead.

“Why’s that?”

“When did you arrive?” 

“Last...night.”

“Your Pokemon, please.”

“Niall,” said Rob, “Let’s go.”

“Unfortunately,” said Jenny, taking another step forward, “I’m going to need to keep you here for questioning.”

“Questioning?” said Julietta.

“With regards to the murder of Professor Yew,” Jenny said. I looked around. The other people in the Pokemon Center were staring.

Jenny’s Growlithe appeared from the pokeball on her belt. Nurse Joy disappeared into the back.

“Come, now,” said Jenny, her voice regaining the honeyed tones any trainer would recognize, “I’m sure that we can solve this amicably!” The Growlithe crouched, anything but amicable. The ruff on Ninetales’ neck was up.

“Jenny,” I said, taking another step back, “I don’t think you want to do this.”

“Growlithe!” she yelled, “Flame-“

Before she could finish, Espeon darted out from behind Julietta’s legs. A purple beam shot from the gem between her eyes and knocked Growlithe backwards into the wall. I heard gasps behind me, and the opening of the door as the people who had seen the brief fight fled.

Jenny’s face was blank. She stared at us. Then cringed, her features contorting.

“Niall Afallon,” she said, drawing a pistol, “You are under arrest. Give yourself up quietly.” 

“Shit,” I said. 

“Immediately. If you do not comply, I will not hesitate to open fire.”

“Easy,” I said, raising my hands and cringing when my left arm didn’t lift out of its sling. “We’re unarmed, Officer. Put the gun down and let’s talk about this. I’m sure there’s been some kind of mistake.” I looked at Rob out of the corner of my eye. His hands were still by his sides, and one finger twitched towards his belt. I was pretty sure that Espeon could erect a barrier in time if the Jenny decided to shoot. One barrier, not two - and one barrier wouldn’t protect all of us.

Jenny’s eyes narrowed, still focused on me. “This is your final warning.”

I shuffled back. Could Ninetales hit her with a flamethrower before she pulled the trigger? I caught Rob’s eye again.His fingers inched closer to Sandslash’s pokeball. 

And then Jenny’s eyes turned to Julietta. “Please,” she began, but before either me or Ninetales could move, a mad roar filled the air behind us and static prickled across my scalp.

Julietta stepped in front of us. Jenny’s finger twitched, Julietta raised a hand, and a shockwave knocked me off balance.

Jenny screamed and dropped her gun. Her legs bent backwards and she was lifted off the ground, arms twisting at sick angles. Bones snapped,burst through her skin. I staggered away, caught a glimpse of Rob’s pale face before he dove behind the nurse’s counter. Jenny struggled in the air, eyes bulging and tongue lolling out of her mouth, but whatever held her there hung on tenaciously, and no matter how she thrashed her shattered limbs, continued to fold her in half until her body gave out.

There was a pop, and I watched in horror as Jenny’s spine snapped in two. She fell to the ground.

The wind disappeared. Julietta exhaled with a rush and collapsed to her knees. Her eyes were wide. Empty. 

Silence.

“Jules,” I said. I reached out a hand. Her arm blurred toward me, caught me by the wrist.

“Jules. You’re hurting me.”

She stared through me for another heartbeat, and then her eyes found mine.

“Niall. Help me.”

“Let’s get you out of here.” I looked at Rob. “Come on.”

I recalled Ninetales, who was sniffing the broken Jenny, grabbed Julietta by the shoulders, and we rushed out of the Pokemon Center. The wail of approaching sirens echoed off the buildings, and I herded us at a sprint down one of Castelia City’s alleyways. A squad of police cars sped past us and we ducked behind a dumpster.

“What the fuck just happened?” Rob whispered.

“Not now, Rob,” I said. Julietta shook. “Nurse Joy must have called them. We’re going to have to make a break for it.”

He was silent for a moment, and then nodded. 

“Into the desert?”

“Into the desert. Jules, can you run?”

She looked like she was going to be sick, but dipped her chin.

“Good. First step is getting out of the city. Ideas?”

“Don’t get caught,” Rob said.

I hurled Braviary into the air. “Eyes,” I said, and he screeched his assent and rose into the sky.

We slunk to the opposite end of the alleyway and emerged into a crowded plaza. Standing straight and trying to be inconspicuous, we trotted through the crowds of people eating Casteliacones and craning their necks toward the sirens. Julietta stumbled once or twice, but I kept a hand on her shoulder and Rob brought up the rear. We crossed the plaza and ducked into another alleyway that abutted Castelia’s main road, just north of the city center.

“Route Four is the only exit that leads towards the desert,” said Rob. “They know our faces, and they know your name, Niall. It’ll be watched.”

“How did she know me?” I asked. “She pulled my name out of nowhere.”

Rob shook his head. “First order of business is avoiding the Jennies.” He didn’t look at Julietta.

“We’ll have to chance it,” I said. “Come on, we’re heading north.” 

We stood, and Julietta stumbled and fell back to the ground. This time, she did vomit. I offered her a kerchief and helped her up.

“You alright?” I asked.

“Better now,” she said, some color returning to her cheeks.

“Good. We get out of here and you can puke as much as you want, OK?” She gave me a tired smile, but stood under her own power and did indeed look to be feeling better as we trotted down the alley. 

We followed the web of back roads north, keeping our ears open for any warnings from Braviary. We moved with the crowds when we could, walking in tense silence. The Jennies had numbers, and Julietta had killed – killed – one of their own. I had never heard of a Sister dying before - had no idea they could die - and had no idea how the Sisterhood would react. How had she known me, though? 

I stopped. Rob bumped into me.

“The Joys,” I said, slowly. 

“What about them?” said Rob.

“The glitchy Joys,” I said, speaking faster, “The Jennies who wouldn’t investigate Yew’s death. Nurse Joy said ‘Ninetales’ to the Jenny back there. The Nurse Joy in Silver town saw Ninetales, too.”

“You think they were looking for us?” Julietta looked pale, but at least had the strength to talk.

“How else would they know where we were going?” I said. “We told the Joy in Pewter City we were headed to Pallet Town. We asked the Joy in Silver Town how to find Cadney. Both times, the Patches showed up. Someone’s using them to track us.”

“There’s no way,” said Julietta. “The Sisters were built to be moral. You know that. It took centuries to engineer them, and they run everything. You can’t buy them.”

“What if I’m right?” I said. “What if they’re reporting things to...someone? Remember how focused the Silver Town Joy was on asking us what we were doing?”

“She was weird,” said Rob, “but come on. You can’t buy a Sister. We know that for certain. So many people have tried, and no one has ever succeeded. They’re perfect.”

“They’re supposed to be,” I said, “but think about it. How else would they have known when we arrived to see Cadney?”

“She said herself that her involvement in the Yew excavations wasn’t secret. You’re jumping to conclusions.” Rob had his arms folded in front of him, and was giving me one of the looks he gives his younger siblings. “Plus, we need the Pokémon centers. Braviary and Skarmory do, at least.”

I sighed. He had a good point. You couldn’t buy a sister. “Then why go to Cadney instead of someone more current to the dig?” I asked. “Why not someone closer to Yew?”

“Cadney was probably just next on the list,” Rob said, without much heart.

“I don’t know. That’s one too many coincidences. We were careless. Aurea told us to keep it quiet, and we waltzed into the Silver Town Pokemon Center and more or less announced who we were.”

“Impossible,” said Julietta.

“They showed up right after we did,” I said. “They knew we had the fuel.”

Julietta said. “There’s no way they could have known. Unless...”

“Aurea,” said Rob. “They must have gotten it out of her.”

“Not Aurea,” said Julietta. She turned to face us. “We’ve never really talked about this, but you know I can...communicate...with my Pokemon, right?”

We looked at each other, nodded.

“What if...what if I’m not the only one?” She glanced away.

“Jules,” I said, “What do you mean?”

“What if there are more people like me? People who can talk without words?”

“People like the Sisters,” I said. She nodded.

“People who are genetically the same in every respect,” she said. “People who rely on instantaneous cooperation to maintain global order.”

“Impossible,” said Rob again. “You can’t buy a-”

“Fuck, Rob, do you have another explanation?” Julietta was glaring at him.

“What, besides the evil machinations of a bunch of psychic clones? You must be joking.”

“Grow up, Rob. This is serious. Use your head.”

“Of course it’s fucking serious, but just because you’re a freak doesn’t mean-”

“I’m what? You think I fucking asked for this? You think I enjoyed watching her crumple? You think I wanted it to happen?” She leaned over, her hands on her knees, breath coming in ragged gasps. Her cheeks were pale.

Rob reddened, opened his mouth to respond.

“Enough,” I said, “both of you. We don’t have time for this. It doesn’t matter how they know, but they know.” 

“I killed her. God, I killed her. My head. Niall, my head. I feel like my head’s going to burst. I couldn’t stop. She was going to kill you; I could see it in her mind. I could see into her mind, Niall. I had to kill her. She would have killed you. Why was she going to kill us? What is happening to me?”

“You’re okay. Jules, look at me. It’s gonna be okay.”

“I want to die. I want to die I want to die I want to die-”

“Jules! Hang in there. Come on. Rob, help.”

He looked at me.

“Help,” I said again. I pulled my arm out of the sling, grimaced, and tossed it on the ground. No more time for luxuries - I’d apologize to Cadney later.

Rob looked down at his feet. “Jules, I didn’t mean it.”

Her mouth stopped working and she looked up at him, pale. “No. You’re right. I am a freak. You should leave me here. Niall, leave me here and get out of the city. What if I do something like that to you? What if -”

“Rob, for fuck’s sake, help me lift her.”

Julietta was sick again before we could move her, but we got her on her feet, head rolling, and made our way down the alley. We wouldn’t be able to carry her the whole way.

“Niall,” said Julietta, her head snapping up,“Your mother.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

“Fuck. If they know my name, it won’t be hard to find her. She’s been in Pallet Town forever.”

“Changes nothing,” said Rob. “We don’t know if anything has happened to her, and there’s no way to call and ask now. We’ll have to go on.”

“I, for one, pity whoever dares to knock on her door and ask about me.” No one smiled.

“You should fix things,” Julietta said.

“Not exactly my top priority right now. And it’s not like I haven’t tried before.” 

“Have you?”

“Later, Jules.”

“What do we do about the Pokémon Centers?” said Rob. “There’s no way we can use them now.”

“We avoid them,” said Julietta, brushing off our help and standing unsteadily on her own. “But not being able to use the Centers means we’re going to need a lot of field meds.”

“We’ll manage,” I said. “We’ve got a strong group.”

“No argument there,” said Rob, “but think about it. You run a team of four. Five for me, five for Julietta. The Patches left a pack of Houndour to die, and they don’t seem to want for resources – like military sniper rifles. If you’re right, we’ve got the Jennies to worry about too, and Growlithe aren’t all they carry. Fifteen Pokémon isn’t that many when we’re not sure what we’re up against.”

“It’ll have to do,” I said, “and I’d take our fifteen over fifty Houndour, any day.”

“Even so, we’ll have to be careful.”

“Then we’re settled. No Pokemon Centers, no police stations, no contact with the Sisters. At least until we figure out what the hell is going on.”

We moved on in silence, and when I poked my head out from yet another alley to survey the gatehouse to Route Four I motioned for everyone to hide. “Look at that.”

The exit was completely cordoned off; a platoon of Jennies on motorbikes blocked the entrance to the gatehouse and packs of Growlithe were patrolling the ring-road.

“Doesn’t look good,” said Rob.

“Looks impassable,” said Julietta. “What now?”

I ducked back into the alley. 

“If we can’t head north, we’ll head South,” I said.

“Into the ocean?” said Rob.

“To the docks,” I said. “They might not be expecting us to try a boat, and there are ships heading to Nimbasa City every day. We can head into the desert from the other direction.”

“Getting stuck on a boat doesn’t seem like the safest idea,” said Rob.

“If they don’t realize it, I can’t think of a better way to get to the desert aside from swimming or flying, neither of which we can manage,” I said. “They won’t be looking for us in Nimbasa.”

“Niall,” said Julietta, “If you’re right about the Sisters, they’ll be looking for us everywhere.”

“No Sisters on the cruise liners, remember?” 

“Assuming we make it to Nimbasa, that’s a hell of a trek,” said Rob. “Do we have that kind of time?”

“There’s no way to know,” I said. “The best we can do for Aurea and for ourselves is to keep from getting caught.”

Rob looked sideways at Julietta, who ignored him.

“Fine,” she said, breathing deeply. “How do we find a boat?”


	7. Chapter 7

Re-crossing the city took us three hours. Three hours of skulking in shadows, looking over our shoulders, and cringing every time we heard the wail of a police siren or the harsh blast of a whistle. None of the public video monitors showed any information, so either they hadn’t gotten around to issuing an alert or the Jennies really were keeping things quiet. All of us were waiting for the moment our faces appeared on the digital billboards. 

Even in late autumn, hulking cruise ships and tourists crowded the piers. It was a perfect place to blend in with the crowd, but we still had to find and board a ship. Acting the part of confused day-trippers, we stared at the signs and schedules without garnering any interest. We weren’t far from the Skyarrow Bridge, but we hadn’t seen any police; maybe they really had focused their efforts on the other half of the city. 

“There,” said Rob. “The Royal Unova. Heads right past Skyarrow, stops at the Marvelous Bridge, and then turns around. Romantic cruise, nice and short. Next trip is in an hour.”

“Perfect. Let’s find tickets. We’ll get off when it stops at Marvelous Bridge, and cut straight across the peninsula into the desert. It’ll take us a few days, but we’ll make it.”

“I’ll get them,” said Julietta. “Niall, someone might know your face, even if you use a fake ID. I’ll be back in ten.” Turning, she disappeared into the crowd.

I watched her go, and then turned to Rob.

“Now,” I said, “want to tell me what that was about?”

“Niall, we just watched Julietta crush a human with her mind. Don’t tell me you’re not spooked.”

“Like nothing else, but you’ve got to be some kind of idiot to react the way you did.” 

He didn’t say anything.

“Well? You two fighting doesn’t help us. If you can’t handle it, feel free to head back to the lighthouse.”

“Fuck you,” he said. “It’s not like that.”

“What’s it like, then?”

“You’ve got your head in the fucking clouds, Niall. This isn’t a game. We’re not going to bluff our way out of this, and you’re always blind when it comes to her.”

“The hell do you mean by that? You’re the noble one now that you’ve found Cadney? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Grow up. This has nothing to do with her.”

“Grow up? We don’t even know her, and all of a sudden you’re acting like a fucking knight in shining armor. The last two years means nothing to you?”

Rob turned on me, fists clenched. I didn’t back away.

“Two years of sleeping on the road? Of acting like we’re still in the Academy?”

“You’re free to run away.”

“That’s what I mean. You’re acting like all of this is normal. It’s not. People are dead. Julietta just killed a Sister. You just got shot, and you’re laughing it all off like it didn’t happen.”

“What do you want me to do?” I yelled. “Go back to Pallet and hide under my bed until they find me and put a bullet in my head? Or better yet, maybe my mother will do it for them! I’m laughing because it’s all I can think to fucking do, Rob. And your contribution is to tell Jules she’s a freak? After all of this?”

He opened his mouth, the veins in his neck bulging, and then all the air left him in a rush.

“I have no idea why I said that. Fear, I guess. I feel like an ass.” He looked at the ground.

I paused, and swallowed my retort.

“You should. Something’s happening to Jules, and I don’t I like it. She doesn’t need the two of us making things harder for her.”

“I know that.” He paused. “Sorry.”

I took a deep breath. “Me too. I guess we’re all a little stressed.”

“Yeah.”

We stood in silence for a few minutes.

“I didn’t mean to snap,” I said.

“I know.”

“But I did just get shot.”

“I know. It’s fine.”

“Friends?”

He laughed then, loudly. “You think one argument would change that?”

I shook my head, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean-”

“Friends,” he said. I smiled.

“What do you think is happening to her?” asked Rob, as my pulse returned to normal. “I assumed the whole telepathy thing was just part of being a psychic-type trainer, but what she did to Jenny is in another league.”

“I assumed the same thing, but Brad made it sound like there was something special about her. And she told me herself that she felt different after touching Zapdos. That it was ‘easier’ for her to do things. She was levitating a chair when I talked to her at the lighthouse.”

“You could have told me that.”

“I know. But it didn’t seem like my place to tell. Julietta’s never said a thing about her past.” 

“I don’t think we can hold on to that kind of distance anymore. We can’t keep hiding forever – from whoever’s looking for us or from each other. You can’t. Understand? She knows you care about her; it’s not like it’ll be unwelcome. Not like if I did it.”

“Just apologize. Things’ll work out.”

“I will - if you talk to her. You owe each other that much.”

We stood in the sun and waited for Julietta to return. The south of Unova is dry, and the wind that came in off the waves carried none of the sea’s moisture.The docks, even by the cruise ships, were drab, industrial, garish; a far cry from the lonely splendor of Brad’s lighthouse despite the colors of the city.

Julietta came back holding three tickets for the sightseeing journey. We would arrive at the marvelous bridge the next afternoon.

“Any problems?” Rob asked.

She didn’t look at him. “Let’s go. It’s boarding now.”

We made our uncomfortable way up the gangplank and kept our faces low. In the crush of the other sightseers it would probably have been hard to spot us, but we took no chances. No Jennies and no Joys aboard the ships. There would be a privately owned and operated Pokemon Center and Pokemart, but that was it.The tension in my shoulders eased somewhat when the horns bellowed and the Royal Unova heaved herself away from the pier.

“Two rooms,” said Julietta as we descended the stairs to the living deck of the ship once we had finally escaped the boarding crush. “They wouldn’t give me just one for the three of us. Guess they really push the whole romantic cruise thing. I’ll sleep alone.”

“You feeling okay?” I said. She slid a keycard through her doorlock, across the hall from ours.

“Better.”

“Jules,” said Rob. She stopped, hand on the doorknob. “Can I talk to you?”

The two of them stood there, staring at each other. I tried to ignore them.

“Fine. Come in.” Rob glanced back at me as he followed her through the door, and I made what I hoped was an encouraging face.

I closed the door to my room and lay down on the bed, rolling a stiff neck and stuffing a pillow under my leaden head. My shoulder ached.Half-carrying Julietta probably hadn’t been a good idea. 

Rob woke me when he sat down on the bed.

“Sleeping?”

“Yeah.” I sat up. “I guess so. Well?”

“We’re...good.” 

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I apologized. She apologized. I told her I was an idiot. She agreed. We laughed.”

“Good.”

“Seems to be. Anything new here?”

“Nah.”

“How’s the shoulder?”

“Hungry, along with the rest of me.”

“Me’n Jules were talking about a drink and a nibble before dinner later. Interested?”

“Desperately.” I got up and slipped my shoes on, rubbing my eyes. We padded into the hallway and knocked on Julietta’s door. She opened with a smile. I smiled back.

“Hey,” she said. “Booze?”

“Yup.”

“Rad. What d’you think they have here?”

What they had was one of the most lavish bars I’ve ever seen in my life. Glass, mirrors, huge crystal tumblers, bartenders in black tie; we were massively underdressed in our motley garb of multi-pocketed flight jackets and desert gear.

“Guess we should have changed,” I said, thinking of the unlaundered blazer at the bottom of my rucksack. 

“Who cares?” said Julietta. “Let’s drink!” I looked at her, but her face was animated and she sounded enthusiastic. No trace of the pale, shaky Julietta we’d shepherded through Castelia City.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” I said.

“Oh, shut up. This is the nicest place we’ve been to in years. I’d be doing it a disservice if I don’t have something.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

We found three tall, unoccupied stools made of fine black leather and luminous steel at the uncrowded bar (most of the other guests were out on the decks, watching the coastline slip by – few people share our dedication to the temple of booze) and ordered drinks. I took a vodka martini, Rob a caipirinha, and Julietta a kir royale. The bartender passed us two dishes of olives along with the drinks.

“My name’s Seth,” he said. “Give me a shout if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” I said, and we took our glasses. The bartender – Seth – nodded and went back to the far end of the bar and resumed polishing the already impeccable glasses with an equally impeccable white napkin.

I raised my drink. “Cheers. To getting out.” We clinked glasses and sipped, and then were quiet again.

Rob cleared his throat. “Here’s to Jules.” She raised an eyebrow. “For saving our lives today, most probably. And for being the best goddamn psychic trainer I’ve ever seen.” He looked down, and then continued. “And for putting up with me.”

“Hear, hear,” I said. Julietta laughed.

“And to you,” she said, looking at Rob, “for sticking around. And to you, Niall. For everything.”

“Me? I haven’t done anything. Here’s to all of us, then. Couldn’t ask for dumber companions.”

“Shut up,” said Julietta, shoving me.

“You’ll spill!” I cradled my drink, which sloshed onto my arm. “Heathen.” I took another sip and allowed myself a small smile.

We finished our drinks and I waved at Seth, who appeared in an instant.

“What can I bring you?”

“Same,” I said.

“Same,” Rob said.

“Anything with gin in it,” Julietta said. 

Seth laughed. “I’ve got just the thing.” He returned several minutes later and set the teetering cocktails down with professional grace.

“What is this?” Julietta asked, sniffing a pale-green glass with a sprig of herb in it.

“Basil gimlet,” said Seth, smiling at her. “Not too sweet, just a hint of sourness. An elegant drink for an elegant woman.” She smiled and he winked at her, and then looked at me. I frowned.

“And for the gentlemen.”

“Never been one of those.”

“Then this’ll help.” He slid me the glass. 

“Cheers, again,” said Rob.

“Cheers!” said Julietta. “This is delicious.”

“Just a lucky guess,” said Seth, who was still watching us. “So, come to see the beautiful sunsets of Unova? Whereabouts are you folks from?”

“We’re from –” Julietta said.

“Johto,” I said. “Backpacking through Unova.”

“Really? First time in Castelia City?”

“Yes,” I said. “Very bustly.”

“Well, there was quite a fuss today. An Officer Jenny was killed.”

“What happened? Do they know who did it?” said Rob.

“No information yet,” said Seth, glancing over at him. “They had the city on lockdown before we left port, but it appears that the culprits have already fled.” He turned to me. “They’re probably laying low already.”

I smiled back at him. “Hope they’re caught. I can’t imagine a Jenny getting killed.”

Seth leaned back against his liquor racks and grinned.“Sorry to bring up such an unpleasant subject. Anyway, I’m glad you chose to join us this evening. My shift is over, but I hope that the three of you can relax and enjoy yourselves a bit. If you’d like dinner reservations for the evening, just speak to my colleague at the front of the room. Ask for a window table. The view is very romantic.” He pointed towards the concierge in a very loose black suit.

“Thanks,” Julietta said. “And thanks again for the drink. Basil gimlet, huh? I’ll remember that.”

“It was my pleasure,” said Seth, sketching a bow and showing her all of his teeth. “I hope I’ll see you again.” With that, he disappeared behind the bar.

“I don’t like him.” I pushed my drink away and arched my back. The barstool looked fancy, but my back was starting to ache along with my shoulder.

“I thought he was charming,” said Julietta.

“Cheesy, more like.”

“Doesn’t sound like our faces have been shared,” said Rob. 

“Guess we really did slip out.” 

“Oh, come on,” said Julietta, “you two are killing the mood.”

“Sorry,” said Rob, sliding off his stool, “what say we take this outside and check out the view?”

“Sounds good to me,” I said. “This stool is getting less comfortable by the second.” We grabbed our glasses and walked through the bar out onto the deck of the ship, where couples lined the sides and watched as the sun begin its descent towards the horizon. It was chilly on the water, and I pulled my jacket collar up to block some of the wind. We made it to the bow and squeezed ourselves in next to a man and woman of about our age. I bumped into him and jostled his girlfriend against the railing.

“Excuse you,” he said, glaring at me.

“Sorry about that. Just trying to watch the sunset.”

“Watch it somewhere else. This spot’s taken.”

“Easy, friend,” said Rob, “There’s enough room for everyone.”

“This ape nearly knocked us off the boat.” He puffed out his chest and jabbed a finger at me. “I challenge you to a duel.”

“What?”

“A pokemon battle. Right now.”

“You must be joking.”

“And you must be a coward. Afraid you’ll lose in front of your girlfriend?” He raised his voice, and a few of the other passengers turned their heads and looked on with interest. 

“And they say romance is dead. What’s your name?” I asked.

“Andy.” 

“Andy, I’m happy to apologize. I’d prefer not to battle you right now.”

He responded by tossing out a Pokéball that released a Ferrothorn. The spectators Oohed and Aaahed, and stepped back to make room. Dinner and a show.

“Waiting.” He tapped his foot and smirked at his girlfriend, who made doe eyes back at him.

“Hold this,” I said, and passed my martini to Julietta. She grabbed it and took a sip. “Don’t finish that. I’ll be back for it soon.”

Ninetales appeared from my belt, yawned, stretched, and looked at me.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry to disturb you.”

“Ha!” said Andy, “It doesn’t even want to battle. Some trainer you must be!”

He struck an exaggerated pose. “Ferrothorn! Power Wh-”

Ninetales opened his mouth and a halfhearted flamethrower enveloped the plant. When the smoke cleared, it was lying on its back, unconscious.

I smiled, held out my hand, and Julietta passed me my drink.Rob clapped slowly.

“Close one,” he said. 

Andy looked stricken.

“Sorry about that.” I pointed to the railing. “Do you mind if we…”

He nodded, mute. Clinging to his girlfriend, the two of them hurried down the deck. There was some disappointed muttering from the crowd, but the sun was reddening as it drew closer to the waves and they lost interest in the short-lived battle.

I recalled Ninetales, who was cleaning himself with a very distinct air of boredom. “That was pointless. But it felt pretty good.”

“As impressive as it is to watch you beat up on morons, I have to pee now,” Rob said.

“Don’t fall in,” I called after him, settling my elbows on the rail and standing up again when my shoulder twinged. Jules took a long drink.

“God, that’s good.”

I stared at my glass. “You really okay, Jules?’

“Probably not,” she said after a long moment. “I killed someone less than twelve hours ago. We’re on the run from the police, our friend is still missing, maybe dead, and I feel like I’m going insane.”

“So, pretty standard for a weekend.”

She laughed.

“What happened this morning?” 

“Just what I said earlier. She was going to kill you, and I stopped her without thinking.”

“A little different from levitating pokeballs.” 

She nodded. “More than a little. I feel like shit. And all I want to do is get stupendously drunk and forget about this whole mess.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?”

“Am I interrupting?” I turned around to see Seth, the bartender, sliding in next to Julietta and nudging her with his shoulder. He smiled at her, and she half-smiled back.

“Ah,” I said, “You. Awfully friendly for a bartender, aren’t you?”

“Me. I couldn’t help but witness that little confrontation. You’ve a very impressive Ninetales.”

“We’ve been together a long time.”

“I can tell. Word to the wise, however. Three people traveling with a Ninetales like that might be slightly conspicuous, don’t you think? People might remember things you don’t want them to remember.”

I looked up at him. Julietta narrowed her eyes.

“Excuse me?” I said.

“Just an idle thought. Then again, perhaps that doesn’t matter to you.”

“We’ll keep it in mind,” said Julietta, turning her back to him. He smiled at me and dipped his head again.

“In that case, I bid you good evening.”

I watched as he walked down the deck and merged with the crowd, hands in pockets. 

“What do you make of that?”

“Same thing you do,” said Julietta. “He knows who we are.”

“So why isn’t he saying anything?”

“Your guess’s as good as mine. Hey, look.”

I pointed. The sun was crimson, reflecting off the calm water. Bright streaks of orange and red cut across the pale lavender of the sky, and golden light rippled out from the horizon.

“Beautiful,” said Julietta.

I looked at her, then raised my glass.“Sure is. To the future.”

“To the future,” Julietta said. Together, we toasted the sunset.

Rob appeared a minute later and leaned back against the guardrail.“Ah, sweet relief. What’d I miss?”

“Yo,” I said, “we were just talking about the lovely situation we’ve found ourselves in. And the bartender knows who we are.”

“Ah. I suppose that makes things a bit more complicated.”

“Maybe.He doesn’t seem particularly interested in doing anything about it . So for now I guess all we can do is lay low.”

“And try to avoid any more battling,” said Julietta.

“Yeah, if Niall can resist the urge to show off.”

“Hey, that was not my fault.” 

“At least we get a nice sunset,” said Rob, craning his neck around.

“Right?” said Julietta. “Almost makes you forget about everything else.”

“Almost,” said Rob. “Okay, I need a shower.”

“We can tell,” said Julietta. “Want to head down now and meet up in a couple hours for dinner?” Rob’s answering grin almost made me believe we were on vacation.

“Sounds good,” he said.

I looked down at the waves. The bloody sun continued to sink beneath the horizon, and the sightseers were beginning to make their way below deck. “I could use a rinse myself.”

“It’s seven now,” Julietta said. “Eight-thirty dinner?”

“Perfect,” I said. I took a last look out over the red-gold sea and turned back to the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

Julietta knocked on the door while I was still fussing with my shirt collar.

“Leave it alone, will you?” said Rob. “It looks fine. Or at least, not terrible.”

“Right. Okay. Ready?”

Rob shook his head. “I hate to say it, but I am dead tired. I think I’m going to skip dinner and turn in early tonight.” He stretched out on his bed, unshowered, shoes still on. 

“What? It’s not even nine!”

“Sorry, but I’m a dead man walking.”

“You’re lying down.”

“Exactly. Anyway, you two enjoy yourselves. Try to make the best of it, will you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, man. You can’t pretend forever. I can’t remember the last time you adjusted your damn shirt collar. And you’re blushing.”

“It’s just - there’s lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Same goes for all of us. Don’t see why that should keep you from-”

I held up a hand. “I don’t want to...ruin anything. I like what we have.”

“Does she?” he said, over the sound of continued knocking.

“Come in!” I yelled across the room.

Julietta opened the door and stepped inside. She was wearing another black dress; this one long and silken. Rob gave me a look. 

“What’s with him?” she asked.

“Says he’s going to bed.”

“Without food? Is he okay?”

“He probably just wants some time alone to fantasize about Cadney,” I said. “Keep it off the sheets.” Julietta cackled.

“God, I’m fine!” said Rob, hurling a pillow at us. “Leave!”

“We’re going, we’re going!” I led Julietta out the door and shut it behind us.

“Did you make a reservation?” she asked.

“Completely forgot. We’ll have to try our luck. The dining room we were in earlier was huge, though.”

We jogged up the stairs onto the main deck, half-racing.

“Stop pushing,” I said, jostling her back. “I’m at half-strength here.”

“There better be food.”

“Relax, will you? They’re not going to run out.”

“You’d better not let me down, Afallon.”

We skirted around the giant Art-Deco ballroom that dominated the dining floor and walked into the restaurant where we had been that afternoon. The same concierge was waiting.

“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room. Grab a table, will you? By any means necessary.”

“Leave it to me.” I walked over to the man, who eyed my wrinkled cream blazer and unpressed trousers but said nothing. 

“Name, please?”

“No reservation,” I said, looking at the half-empty dining room.“A table for two, thanks.” I checked over my shoulder for Julietta and leaned in a little closer. “A window table, if possible.”

At that, his head snapped up, eyes twinkling. “Of course, sir.This way, please.”

We walked to the opposite corner of the dining room, where he seated me at a small table far from the other diners. Two tall white tapers burned in crystal sconces. I sat, and looked out the window. The dim restaurant lights did nothing to detract from the silver radiance of the waxing moon over the ocean. 

“Perfect.”

“I am pleased to hear it, sir.I hope you and your lovely wife have a wonderful evening.”

“Oh, we’re not married. Or involved. At all.”

He smiled a broad, brilliant smile at me. “Ah, of course. I believe I understand, sir. A famous poet from my land once said, ‘The path of love seemed easy at first; what came was many hardships.’”

“Sorry?”

“A saying, sir, nothing more. Would sir like anything to drink this evening?”

I looked out the window again. “What the hell, how about a bottle of champagne?

His smile grew broader. “Very good, sir.” He disappeared on bouncing feet, and I stared at the moon until Julietta showed up a moment later.

“Window table? Dang.” I stood, she sat, and a waiter appeared from somewhere to drape a napkin across her lap. “They sure know how to make you feel fancy.”

I re-seated myself. “Tell me about it. I wasn’t sure the guy was going to let me in at first.”

“You do stand out a bit. And you could have shaved.”

“I figured it was part of my – ”

“Yeah, yeah. Part of your charm. So I’ve heard. Well, it’s not like it looks terrible.”

I grinned at her. “Thanks.”

“Hmph. It wasn’t a compliment. Usually I’m embarrassed just to be seen with you.”

The waiter - or maybe a different waiter - appeared with a bucket of ice and a bottle and disappeared again after filling our flutes.

“You ordered champagne?”

“I ordered champagne.”

“Well, at least you’re not completely useless.”

“Give me some credit, will you?”

“I just did. Cheers,” she said, raising her overflowing glass.

“Cheers,” I said, and we drank.

“So, what is there to eat in this place?” she asked.

“Haven’t looked.” I passed her a menu. She opened it and her eyebrows shot up.

“Motherfuckin’ sushi.” 

I laughed.

The waiter appeared without being summoned. 

“Have you made a decision?”

“This. All of this,” said Julietta, pointing at the sushi. 

“Very good, madam,” he said. “Sir?”

I laughed. “We’ll both have the sushi menu.” He refilled our glasses before leaving, and I turned back to Julietta, opened my mouth, and closed it again. She was looking out the window, staring at the moon. The light caught in her hair and she shivered, hugged her arms around herself.

“Jules?”

She looked over at me.

“Just thinking.”

I waited.

“I can feel her. Somewhere. It’s not as strong, now, but it’s still there – loneliness, emptiness, the vastness of everything else. Makes dealing with other things more difficult.”

“Other things?”

She looked at me. Really looked.

“I never knew my parents,” she said. “Guess I told you that. I was an orphan. Grew up at the Cerulean City gym.”

She took a sip of champagne. 

“They used to beat us. If we didn’t do our chores, or if we made mistakes, if we lost. If we won. Or for no reason at all. We trained all day, sometimes all night. There were three of us.”

“Three?”

“Yeah. Three girls.”

“What happened to the other two?”

“I was always stronger than they were. From the very beginning. They knew it. The other gym rats knew it, too. They didn’t like it, didn’t like that I didn’t get on with the water pokemon.”

“So they picked on you?”

“Not really. The girls were scared of me – the trainers probably were too.They gave me an Eevee when I got there – a cute little pokemon for a cute little girl. Wanted me to evolve it into a Vaporeon. It wouldn’t. I tried; thought that if I could do what they wanted they’d stop hitting me.It chose, though. They weren’t happy when I showed them an Espeon.Told me I’d betrayed them, taken advantage of their kindness. As if. Stuck in a loft together, three little girls? No lights, no sleep, barely any food? That’s not kindness.”

“Jules, what happened to the other two girls?”

“People say that the Joys and the Jennies fixed everything. Cleaned it all up – the Unification was the best thing humanity’s ever done to keep itself in check. No more wars, no more crime, no more pain or hunger or any of the other sorrows from before we cracked the genome.” She took another sip, and set the flute carefully on the white tablecloth. “Do you know how much it costs to buy a twelve year old in Cerulean City, Niall?”

I grabbed my glass to steady my hand.

“The other two disappeared. I never saw them again. They couldn’t keep up with me– who could? A pre-teen, training an Espeon? That’s unheard of. The gym didn’t need two more mouths to feed if they weren’t going to bring in money. Got rid of them. My fault, I guess. I looked for them a few years later, the first time I went back to Cerulean. Thought I could save them. When I finally found someone who knew who they were, I got laughed at. Laughed at. They’d been dead for years.”

“How’d you get out?”

“Walked out.”

“That’s it? They let you walk away?”

She looked down at the table, smiled. “I was fourteen. A fourteen year-old who’d grown up believing she deserved the abuse she got. I thought about running away for years. But I was afraid of what would happen to me if I got caught. Didn’t think I’d be able to make it on my own. I clung to that gym like anyone would cling to home. But it changed when the other girls left. Even if they beat me, I had thought I was safe there. It took me two years to work up the courage to leave. Finally realized I didn’t have to let them hit me. It wasn’t a friendly parting."

“When they had to rebuild the gym twelve years ago...?”

“They tried to stop me. Even the gym leader, who usually didn’t bother to get her hands dirty. I had Gengar by then, and a Kadabra. They shouldn’t have gotten in my way. We left it a ruin.”

“I can’t believe it. She was such a hero for so many years. We grew up practically worshiping her - the gym, the Cascade badge, the three beautiful sisters…”

“I spent fourteen years trying to forget my life in Cerulean City, trying to forget the screams and the beatings. Trying to forget the bodies. I don’t regret it. If she were standing in front of me now, I’d do it again. I’d do it with a smile. You think the Sisters fixed things? No. This world’s broken. I did us all a favor.” 

Champagne spilled over the edge of her glass, and I didn’t get the sense that her next words were meant for me. “Now it’s happening again, and I don’t even need my Pokemon to help. What am I?”

I looked her in the eyes. “My friend.” 

She set her glass down, dropped her voice. “I killed her, Niall. She’s dead. I can sit here and drink champagne with you, pretending that everything is okay, but a person is dead because of me. Again. And this time it’s a Jenny.” Her hands shook. I reached out and grabbed them. 

“You heard Rob. You saved our lives. If we’re right about the Jennies, they might all be trying to kill us. As far as I’m concerned, you did the right thing. Again.”

“Thanks, but I feel sick. I can’t stop thinking about it and I don’t know if I want to. Am I a monster?”

“You’re not a monster. I would’ve done the same thing if she’d pointed the gun at you.”

“You would have snapped her in half with your mind?”

“I would have done something.”

“It was bad enough when I learned I could move things. I was on my own by then – no one to talk to, no one to help me. Not even the Cerulean City trainers, as terrible as they were.”

Jenny’s screams replayed in my head. The crack of her body as it splintered, the dull thump of dead flesh against the ground.

“Today…” the words came out like a whisper, like a confession. “I felt like I could have done anything. I could have torn the Pokemon Center down if I wanted - torn the city down around us. Could have pulled the stars out of the sky. Could have…”

The candles shone in her eyes. She sounded almost wistful. “Aren’t you scared?”

“Of you?”

“Of me. Of traveling with a killer. Of everything.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“I’m not joking. I spent the next twelve years running. Trying to forget. Trying to pretend that I was normal, that nothing had happened. But Cerulean City was the only place I knew. I kept getting dragged back, even though I hated it. No one recognized me - the little girl, all grown up. I was afraid I’d be stuck there forever. That they’d figure out who I was. That they wouldn’t.”

She looked away. “Then I met you and Rob. You were friendly, the first people I’d seen in I don’t know how many years that Espeon didn’t hate at first sight. I can’t tell you what that felt like. And now it’s like it’s coming apart, and I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose what I found. What I never had before.”

“We’ll figure it out. We’ll find Aurea. This isn’t going to last forever. This time next year we’ll be up to our ears in money and raw fish.”

She smiled at me, but her lip quivered and we fell into silence. 

The sushi came. We sat back and watched the waiter set the food out before us.

Julietta almost inhaled his hand along with her first bite of tuna.

“Fuck, that’s good,” she said. “God, Niall, you have to try this.” She lifted another piece and held it out to me with her chopsticks. “Say ‘Ah.’”

I hesitated for a moment, and then leaned forward and bit into it.

“Well?”

“Delicious,” I said, eyes wide.

“Right?”

We gave up on conversation, serious or otherwise, and focused on devouring the impressive spread before us. Rolls, nigiri, and sashimi were all consumed and appreciated.

“This was so worth it” said Julietta.

“Agreed.” I washed down a piece of broiled eel with more champagne. “I can’t remember the last time we sprang for a nice dinner.”

“And I can’t believe Rob’s missing out on this.” 

I focused on the rice on my plate. “I’m sure he’s just fine. There’s always more sushi.”

“But not like this! Not with the view, and the moon, and the candles, and the champagne...” she trailed off and looked at me.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she smiled.

“Couple pieces left. You eat ‘em.”

“Are you sure?”

“’Course. You’re the one who’s been craving sushi. Finish us off.”

“Your loss.”

The last few bites disappeared, Julietta poured us the end of the champagne, and we leaned back in our seats. The concierge billowed in from nowhere.

“Might I suggest,” he said, bending his ever-larger smile towards us, “That sir and madam take their drinks up to the observation deck? The moon is almost full tonight, and the stars are shining. ”

“That sounds lovely,” said Julietta. The concierge pulled her chair back and she rose in a single, graceful motion. I stood as well, realized I was staring, and tried not to knock my own chair over. Together we walked to the glittering spiral staircase in the middle of the restaurant. I kept my hands in my pockets, did my best not to reach out and touch the small of her back. 

The restaurant’s observation deck was private, and invisible from the lower deck. Several other couples whispered in corners, but it was nearing eleven o’clock and most of the sightseers were either in their quarters or enjoying one of the more rambunctious bars on the lower levels. We leaned over the railing, half of the deck to ourselves.The moon was huge, and so far away from the lights of the city the stars were brilliant. 

Julietta shivered again. I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“Cold?”

“Thanks. It’s beautiful out here.” The ocean breeze was blowing, but aside from the rushing of the wind and waves everything was quiet. Even the low rumble of the engines disappeared so high above the ship. 

I cocked my head at her. “Yes, it is.”

“First the lighthouse, now a moonlit cruise - it’s easy to forget that we’re more or less running for our lives.”

“Seems like a dream, doesn’t it?”

Somewhere along the coastline, I could hear the sound of a news helicopter. An unpleasant reminder of the reality of our situation. I settled my right arm against the rail, enjoying the night air and the wind on my face.

“It does. A good one. Too bad dreams don’t last.” She sighed and leaned out over the water, and her hair whipped and tumbled around her face. 

“We could make it last. Once this ends, I mean. Come back here, make it a real vacation.”

“Dream the same dream too many times, and it loses its magic. We’ve got to have something to look back on.”

“What about something to look forward to? I know that the promise of a long vacation with a beautiful woman would do a fair bit to keep me motivated.”

“Niall,” she said, leaning back and pulling my jacket up around her neck, “are you flirting with me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I grinned. 

“Yeah, right.”

We watched the reflection of the moon and listened to the laughter of the waves against the bow.

“Do you really think that everything will go back to normal?”

I thought for a moment, and listened to the waves crash against the boat.

“No, I guess not. But I think we can make a new normal, when this is done.”

“What do you mean?”

“I suppose I can’t pretend that this’ll all just go away. It might not. And even if it does, well, a lot of things have probably changed. But the three of us, we’ll figure it out together, like we always do. And when it’s done, well, then we’ll deal with whatever comes next. Together.”

She smiled at me. “I’m amazed you can say something so useless and make it sound deep.”

“It’s a talent. How do you think I made it through the Academy?”

She laughed. And then her smile faltered, and she looked away. “Do you think I’m a freak?”

“I don’t think you’re a freak.” There were other things I almost said. “Neither does Rob.”

“I know. It still hurts, though.”

I could still hear the sound of helicopter blades, growing louder. And louder.

More than one set.

“Jules, I think we should get down from here.”

“Why?”

Spotlights crisscrossed the waves in front of the ship, and the moon outlined two menacing shapes. We ducked as the two helicopters roared overhead. Not news helicopters. Military. They swung around, hung in the sky above the stern.

“Now,” I said. I grabbed her hand and we ran towards the staircase.

“You think they’re here for us?”

“Ah, did you enjoy the view?” asked the concierge as we barreled down the stairs and rushed past him towards the exit.

“It was perfect, thanks!” Julietta shouted over her shoulder. I waved, and he grinned at me.

“Best of luck, young sir!”

“Luck? What is he talking about?” asked Julietta.

“No idea. We have to find Rob, let him know.” I ignored the surprise on the faces of the lingering diners and banged the door open at a sprint. We reached the main deck and ran towards the ballroom.

“We can cut through and head below,” I said.

I pushed the huge ballroom doors open and stopped. The dance floor was packed with men and women clad in black and white, and a band was playing a waltz. Lights hung from the glass roof of the ballroom and hundreds of small chandeliers glittered in the soft glow. I was tempted to pass the helicopters off as paranoid delusion, to stay and mingle with the dancers, to enjoy a night of normalcy.

“Wow,” said Julietta.

“No kidding.” And then I shook my head. Still holding her hand, I began threading my way through the twirling couples, muttering “excuse me’s” whenever we earned a glare. 

The waltz reached its climax as we crossed the dance floor, aiming for the doors on the far side.

The ceiling exploded, showering the dancers with glass. The ship’s alarm started to wail. There were screams, and people began to run for the exit.I crouched and pulled Julietta into my chest as the glass rained down on us, then covered my eyes and looked up. Black-clad figures were descending on ropes and the sound of rotor blades roared through the hole where the ceiling had been.

“This is bad.”

“No, really?” Julietta tried to stand, and I realized I was still holding her.

“Sorry.” 

The ballroom was in a panic. The first of the black-clad figures reached the floor, detached itself from the rope, and fired a rifle into the air. 

I turned around, back the way we came. Armed thugs already stood in front of the doorway, letting the terrified passengers out while scanning the crowd.

“They’re definitely looking for someone,” said Julietta.

“And we’re more or less trapped.”

“Any more of that brilliance that got you through the Academy?”

“Run?”

We ran along with the rest of the herd, or we tried to, but when we reached the doorway two of the thugs stepped in front of us, guns raised. They didn’t shoot, but they forced us back into the center of the room. We didn’t lift our hands, but we were pretty well caged in. It didn’t take long for the ballroom to empty, and when I looked around again, Julietta and I were alone in a ring of guards. Another rope fell through the center of the ceiling and a red-clad woman sank into view. 

She touched down on towering, heeled shoes. Long white stockings covered her legs up to the thigh, and a red, ruffled minidress fluttered in the gale from the helicopters.

“Pity,” she said, curling one corner of her lip and staring at the destruction around us. “I do love a dance.”

***

“Now,” said the woman, “I suppose that my business is with you.” She turned and barked at one of the guards. “I’ve sent a team to their quarters already. Find the third one, and make sure he can’t bother us. We don’t need him alive.”

“Fuck off,” said Julietta, pushing me aside and stepping forward.

“Now, now. Let’s not make this even more of a nuisance than it already is.”

“Nuisance? We were enjoying a perfectly nice evening before you decided to stop by. You seem oblivious, so I’ll lay it out for you: you weren’t invited. Leave.”

The woman glared at Julietta. She didn’t back away, and eventually the glare turned into a smile. It didn’t look friendly. “Well. I was informed you wouldn’t come easily. So be it.”

Two pokemon appeared in a flash of light, the first a gigantic steel behemoth, standing tall on four pillar-like legs. Metagross. I didn’t recognize the second. It had a huge, wedge-shaped head, a sleek, segmented body, and it stood upright on legs that ended in two curved claws. In place of hands were two giant silver scythes. 

For the first time in years, I reached for my Pokedex.

“Kabutops,” it announced in the same happy voice it had used since my childhood, “This pokemon is extinct.”

“No, it’s fucking not,” I said.

The woman grinned. “Consider yourself lucky. Very few people get to see my Kabutops. Sadly, Mr. Afallon, you won’t be around to tell anyone about it.”

I reached for my belt and grabbed Rapidash. She appeared, stamping the ground. Julietta did likewise, calling out Gengar.The four pokemon stared at each other. No one moved. 

“Meteor Mash!” Yelled the woman. The Metagross charged at Rapidash, who lowered her head and hit it with a flamethrower. The Kabutops flashed towards us, and Gengar faded into mist as a scythe passed through the air where it had been moments before.

I pushed Julietta away from the creature’s gleaming silver blades and we tumbled backwards onto the floor as our pokemon attacked again. Before we could scramble to our feet, the double doors we’d been aiming for slammed open. Sand exploded into the room, filling it with howling wind and stinging rock in the space of a few seconds.

“Jules! Exit!” She grabbed my shoulder and we ran through the sandstorm, heads lowered, toward the doors. We could hear the woman screaming over the roar of the wind, but with the ballroom empty it didn’t take us long to cross the dance floor. We saw Sandslash’s outline through the sand, and dove through the doors into the hallway.

“Evening,” said Rob, eyes narrowed.

“Good timing,” I said.

“I woke up when the ship’s alarm went off. Funny thing, there were some unfriendly-looking folks running down our hallway when I was leaving.”

“And?”

The corner of his lip curled upwards in a cross between a chuckle and a sneer. “And Steelix exchanged pleasant greetings with them. A giant metal pokemon in a tiny corridor doesn’t care much about bullets. And it doesn’t care much about what it squashes, either. After that, we followed the panic.”

“Gotta say,” said Julietta, peering into the howling storm, “she does know how to make an entrance.”

“So do I,” said Rob. In response, Sandslash raised his arms, and the floor rumbled.

The Earthquake daggered out from his feet, cracking the floor open beneath the thugs. We watched as the ripple of energy crashed into the Metagross, dropping it to the ground. Its shell cracked and it let out a horrible, screeching wail.

“So much for that,” I said.

“All about types,” said Rob.

“Um,” said Julietta, pointing at the floor. The cracks that had spread out beneath Sandslash’s feet were spreading still, spiderwebbing around us.

“Shit,” said Rob, and the floor gave way.

We fell and my stomach flipped, the wooden flooring coming with us, and I screamed when my bad shoulder slammed into the floor of the level below.


	9. Chapter 9

Dust filled the air, and everything was dark and quiet. I coughed, bit back another scream, and pushed myself to my feet with my good arm.

“Everyone okay?”

“Good here,” said Rob. “Sandslash too.”

“Gengar?” shouted Julietta. “Rapidash?” We were rewarded with Gengar’s Cheshire smile and the flickering light of Rapidash’s mane. The Royal Unova’s dim emergency lighting came on, casting long shadows on the walls of the massive room in which we found ourselves. Sand and detritus covered the floor. Beneath the rubble were what looked like kitchen supplies and musical equipment, staging apparatus for the ballroom above.

Julietta summoned Chandelure, whose flame brightened the room a bit.

“Think that got them?” I asked. 

“Who knows,” said Rob. “Either way, let’s get out of here.”

“How?” said Julietta.

“Beats me, but I stand by my suggestion.”

We looked around the darkness for an exit, but the Earthquake had reduced everything to a maze of debris. 

Torchlight flashed through the air.

“Find them!” said an unpleasantly familiar voice in the distance. “Now!”

“Guess you didn’t get her,” I said.

“A shame,” said Rob.

“Anyone see an exit?” said Julietta, looking at the collapsed walls of the room.

“This way!” said a shape, detaching itself from the shadows.

“Seth?”

“Mr. Afallon.”

“Guess I’m not surprised you know my name at this point. Who are you?”

“Follow me. I’ll explain on the way.”

We turned and made our way in the direction he indicated, climbing over the wreckage. The torchlight grew dimmer as we crossed the huge room. It must have been even bigger than the ballroom above it.

“You were saying?” I banged my toe on something and cursed. 

“I’m from the Hoenn Assault and Recon Armament. HARA, for short. We’ve been watching Miss Azile for a long time, now.”

“Azile?”

“The woman in red. She showed up in Hoenn five years ago as the head of a drug ring. We busted that up, but she slipped through our fingers. Two years later she was in Kanto, also smuggling drugs and weapons. I tracked her here to Unova, again following arms shipments. We know she works for someone, but we don’t know who.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“Other than trying to kill the three of you, I have no idea.”

“And what do you want with us?”

“I worked with Aurea long ago, and took a personal interest when her kidnapping was reported.”

“Reported?”

“Yes. By a Mrs. Afallon.”

“My mother? Is she safe?”

“She’s safe. She’s with my colleagues.” 

“Thanks for that, I guess, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“I couldn’t care less about the three of you,” he said, shoving a piece of wood out of his way. “But I do care about Aurea. I tracked you to Celadon City and followed you aboard.”

“As a bartender?”

“Gotta stay busy.”

“And why were you tracking us?”

“Your sudden departure from Pallet down was somewhat suspicious.”

“You thought we kidnapped Aurea?” Rob hopped over a kitchen sink, sounding more amused than anything.

“I did, until Azile showed up.”

“Enemy of my enemy, huh?”

“Something’s going on, and even if you three are involved, I’m pretty confident that you’re not the types that would mastermind a murder and a kidnapping. You strike me as a group of unlucky kids caught up in something bad.”

Julietta and I glanced at each other.

“So why not let the Jennies take care of things?” she said.

“We’re working with them. They’re covering the Yew angle, but they’re not as mobile as a HARA unit or a single operative – or as flexible. They stick to their methods. Not ideal colleagues for…outside investigators, like myself.”

“Working with them,” said Julietta, “Great. So, now what?”

“Now I get you out of here. Azile’s dangerous, and I don’t have any backup.”

Rob scoffed. “What about us?”

“No offense,” he said, “but a group of young trainers isn’t exactly the kind of support I’d hope for. Mr. Afallon has a skilled Ninetales, but I’m amazed the three of you have survived this long. You got pretty lucky with that Earthquake attack.”

Rob opened his mouth, but Julietta cut him off. “We appreciate the concern, but it might be better if you took your leave.”

“Not a chance. You’re coming with me back to HQ, and we’re going to figure out what the hell is going on here.”

“Right.” I met Rob and Julietta’s eyes in turn, and gave them a pointed look. “You just save us, and then we can all be friends together.”

Instead of answering, Seth stopped and stared at a collapsed hallway. “This was the exit I was aiming for. Your Sandslash may have been a bit overzealous.”

“He gets like that.” Rob didn’t sound like he was in the mood to be friends. Or like he was particularly interested in being agreeable.

“Anywhere else we can go?” I said.

“There’s another exit on the other side, but that means looping back past Azile and her men, and I’d like to avoid conflict.”

I laughed. “A little late for that.”

“Keeping you out of harm’s way until I get some answers is priority one,” he said.

“So why not call in one of your HARA units?”

He shook his head. “I did, but there’s not enough time. It’ll take them over an hour to get here, even by helicopter. I was in alone on this one, and wasn’t expecting Azile to show up. Now, things are complicated.”

“You are a master of the obvious.” We turned around and stood, and Seth made thoughtful faces. 

“Rob,” I said, “did you scope anything out on your way to the ballroom?”

“Nothing on this deck,” he said.

“Shit recon.” 

“You’re the one who fell asleep.”

“Says the guy who wasted two hours fantasizing about his girlfriend.”

Rob laughed. “Right. Let’s blame it on Jules.”

“Do I need to remind you people that this is not a joke?” said Seth.

“Oh, shut up,” said Julietta. “Let them work.”

Seth’s mouth opened and closed again.

“We’re near the center of the ship,” Rob said. 

“Not where we want to be,” I said.

“So we move wide.”

“Then what?”

“Lifeboat, I guess.”

“When they’re in choppers?”

“Speaking of…”

“You can fly one?”

“No, but maybe our savior can.” Rob pointed at Seth, who looked at him like he was a lunatic, and then nodded.

“I don’t know if they ever touched down,” I said.

“So we head above and check,” said Rob.

“And if that doesn’t work,” said Julietta, “Lifeboat. And we deal with the choppers if they find us.”

“Not if,” I said. “When.”

She nodded, stopped short, and pointed into the darkness. “We might be too late.” We heard a clicking sound. In the flickering emergency light, a pair of yellow eyes appeared some thirty feet away.

“Kabutops.” Julietta stared at it.

“What is that thing?” I said.

“Don’t know,” said Rob, “But it looked mean as hell.”

“An extinct Pokemon,” said Seth. “I’ve seen fossils at the Nacrene City Museum before, but I have no idea how she got her hands on a live one. Someone’s got money and tech. Someone who isn’t Azile. Everyone get back. I’ll handle this.”

The eyes moved closer, followed by an insectoid body.

“No offense,” I said, “but no.”

Rapidash whinnied, standing her ground. The Kabutops stopped ten yards from us, Rapidash’s flame flickering on the silver of its scythes.

“Careful,” said Rob. “She won’t be able to move as well with all this crap everywhere.”

“We have to end this before that woman finds us. Flame Charge!”Rapidash sprang forward, trailing fire, aiming for the body of the skeletal creature. The Kabutops darted aside and swung an arm. 

Rapidash’s body kept moving, but her head did not. 

Her flame winked out. Blood fountained out of her neck and her body smashed into the floor.

The Kabutops didn’t stop its charge. Julietta yelled something and pushed me to the side. I tripped on a wooden beam and fell onto my knees, palms landing in a sticky pool.

“Get up!” Julietta screamed. I raised my head, saw the mantis-blade coming in slow motion, and dove underneath it. The sickle whistled over the top of my head, and as I stumbled into a running half-crouch I hurled Ninetales’ pokeball in front of me. It howled open and the fox emerged in a burst of flame, casting huge, Kabutops-shaped shadows against the wall. He landed on his feet, fire dripping from his maw. 

The Kabutops, overcoming its shock at the sudden light, clicked its jaws together. 

Barking echoed through the chamber.The sounds of pursuit.

“We’ve got more company!” yelled Seth. “It’s time to go!”

A flamethrower roared out of Ninetales’ mouth, and was met by a jet of water from the Kabutops.

“Niall,” said Rob, coughing through the steam, “It’s a water type. Call Ninetales back.”

I looked down. My hand and Ninetales’ Pokeball were covered in blood.

“Ninetales,” I said, but he growled at me before I could finish. He was crouched low, the hair on his neck sticking straight up, tails pointed straight behind him.

Rapidash’s body lay beside us in the half-dark. 

“Mr. Afallon, we have to get out of here.” Seth’s voice had jumped an octave.

I didn’t move. Ninetales’ eyes burned in the darkness.

“Fuck it.” I heard Rob scrambling over the remains of the ceiling towards the barking. “We’ll take care of the mutts. Seth, Jules, come on. Plenty of work for Gengar and Sandslash.”

“Are you crazy? That thing will kill him.”

“Leave him,” snapped Julietta, turning towards the oncoming Houndour. She locked eyes with me. “Niall. Stay alive.”

I nodded, knuckles white. My pulse throbbed in my head.

Ninetales growled again. It echoed through the cavernous undercroft and reverberated in my chest; low, insistent, full of menace. The Kabutops was still as stone before us, and the light from Chandelure’s flame was gone. I moved my right foot forward a half step.

The Kabutops came, arms flashing through the artificial twilight. Ninetales dodged aside and aimed a flamethrower at its back. It flickered into the shadows and emerged again in a blur of silver. Ninetales darted past it, grabbing a leg in his jaws and dragging it to the ground. It flipped onto its back and kicked out at him and he jumped back into a crouch as it righted itself. He padded around it in a circle, and the Kabutops turned with it, yellow eyes never leaving the fox. 

A watergun burst from its mouth and Ninetales met it with another blast of flame. Steam filled the room once more. Ninetales yipped a warning, and I skipped away as a silhouette appeared in the mist. Kabutops came after me this time, and I dove beneath the scythes. Ninetales leapt on its back as it swung at me and it fought him without making a sound. Ninetales couldn’t find anywhere on its rocky body to dig his teeth in, and retreated again. 

He hit it with a flamethrower before it could turn its attentions back to me. It didn’t respond with a watergun in time, and the flames washed over it, leaving scorch marks along its brown body. It shuddered but resumed its attack, alternating blasts of water with blinding slashes. Ninetales dodged them all, but the Kabutops didn’t slow down. Ninetales leapt back, bounced off a wall, and launched himself into the ancient pokemon’s chest; knocked it to the floor again and flipped himself upright with a jet of flame. Flashes of ghostlight and the rumble of Sandslash’s ground attacks punctuated the gloom at the far end of the room, eliciting frantic barking and wild bursts of fire. 

Ninetales sprang forward again, teeth looking for purchase, but the Kabutops managed to dodge and clip the fox with its knee. It was enough to give it another opening, and it burst towards me. I tried to dodge, but caught my foot on something unseen, and before I knew it I was on my back. If I hadn’t had the air knocked out of me I would have screamed again, but instead I managed to get my hands up in time to catch the ancient pokemon’s forearm and kept it from stabbing my through the throat. Something tore in my shoulder and the Kabutops pressed down, its face showing no emotion whatsoever. I gritted my teeth noiselessly, trying to keep its blades away from my neck.

Ninetales slammed into it and they tumbled over each other into the darkness, gouts of flame and water shooting into the air. They broke away again, and this time the Kabutops was slower to rise. It looked like a rock and used water attacks, but the flames had still burned it. Ninetales was panting, licks of fire dripping from his muzzle, and if he were any other pokemon I would have recalled him then. But he was angry. 

I was too. I scrambled to my feet, trying not to bang my left arm any further.

I wiped what I assumed was blood away from my mouth, though I couldn’t remember being cut.“It’s time we ended this.”

He stopped his prowl, and the Kabutops eyed him in its implacable way.

“Fire Spin.”

The Kabutops tried to get in close with its scythes, but the floor buckled beneath Ninetales’ paws. He raised his head and howled and an inferno enveloped us both, shattering the darkness and filling the chamber with flames. I raised my arms to shield my face, the heat burning the hair away in an instant. The Kabutops lowered its head and braced itself against the onslaught, inching its way towards Ninetales.

The flames surged out from Ninetales’ mouth, blowing away the rubble that lay before him. Fire roared around the three of us, drowning out the sounds of battle. The Kabutops took one laborious step forward, its body steaming in the heat. Another step.It raised a silver scythe above its head. Ninetales crouched low and and opened his mouth wider. The air burned with heat and light. Stony flesh began to chip away from the Kabutops and high-pitched whistling filled the air. Its jaws opened wide; insistent, disbelieving, and then it burst apart, a million fragments of stone roaring away in a hurricane of flame. Silence filled the room where the fire had been. 

I blinked away the blinding light, ears ringing, and peered towards the narrow silhouette of a woman.

“You.” I dropped my arms, burns forgotten. “What do you want?”

“The girl,” said Azile.

Her face and body were bleeding from innumerable cuts. Bits of stony flesh were lodged in her skin and she was breathing heavily, but her mouth was twisted into a grin. There was a pistol in her hand, an ugly shape, darker than the twilight.

I didn’t move. She raised her hand, and a gunshot shattered the silence. I staggered back, but the pain never came. 

Julietta stood before me, wreathed in purple light.

“Enough,” she said.

“So it is true.” Azile’s whisper reached us through the dead air. “I suppose I was wrong. Metagross, we need her alive. Kill the others.”

The steel Pokémon stepped out from behind her, still standing somehow despite its cracked carapace.

I ticked over typesets and attack effectiveness. Ninetales was tired, even if he would never admit it. I reached for Dragonair’s Pokeball, but Rob stepped up and touched me on the shoulder.

“You’ve done enough. We’ll take it from here.” 

I nodded, head heavy. “The rest?”

“Dealt with,” he said. “Turns out Seth is borderline useful. Rather, his Blastoise is.”

I didn’t watch as Sandslash began to tear the Metagross apart. It was weak, and Rob had favored me with a smile that did not suggest mercy. 

Instead I stared at the remains of my oldest friend. We had seen the world together, crossed continents and oceans, ridden countless miles and spent countless nights under the quiet stars.

Her eyes were closed. 

Steel cracked behind me, and my nose filled with the scent of ozone. I stood and turned.

Rubble hung in the air, suspended by nothing more than Julietta’s formidable will. Rob and Sandslash flanked her, unfazed.

I took my place beside my friends. Azile lay on the floor, covered in debris. A smile spread across her face.

“Who do you work for?” said Rob. He sounded older than I remembered. Tired, too. We were all tired.

“Someone you should pray you never meet,” she laughed. The words bubbled in her mouth, and she coughed once.

“Who?” said Rob.

“He’ll find you,” she said in response. “You’ll never escape.”

“You’re under arrest,” said Seth, picking an uncertain path through the rubble, eyes flicking back to Julietta.

Azile only laughed louder. The hulking shape of her Metagross rose up behind her.

“Kill them.” She spat the words through blood. “Kill them all.”

The Metagross began to glow.

“Run!” I yelled, yanking Julietta’s arm and dragging her behind me. She stumbled, hand on her head, but kept her feet. We ran towards the door, Rob and Seth behind us. White light filled the chamber.

“What is that?” panted Julietta.

“Explosion,” I yelled. “That lunatic is going to destroy the ship.”

We sprinted back in the direction that Azile had come, leaping over fallen walls and the remains of men, women and Houndour, rent apart by tooth and claw, some torn in half with no visible wounds. Julietta didn’t look at the bodies.

“My squad will be here in fifteen minutes,” Seth yelled. 

“There’s not going to be a ship here in fifteen minutes. Tell them to prep for evacuation.”

“How long do we have?” said Rob, peeling into the hallway that appeared before us.

“Seconds, maybe. It takes some time to charge, but – ”

An explosion rocked the ship and a shockwave knocked Seth and me off our feet and sent us sprawling down the corridor. Rob had been a step behind, and he slammed into a wall and went limp. Only Julietta remained standing.

I stumbled upright, my ears ringing. Julietta grabbed my arm and steadied me.

“Rob?” I shouted. “Rob!”

Blood leaked from his temple, but he rolled over and groaned.

Seth knelt down next to him and looked into one of his eyes.

“He’ll live,” he said. “But he’s out for now. We’ll have to carry him.”

The ship creaked, and the floor began to tilt. I took a step to steady myself, looked at Seth. “We need to leave.” 

He nodded. I grabbed Rob under one shoulder while Seth took the other, and we half-ran down the corridor as the floor grew steeper and steeper and a roaring filled the air.

“Niall,” said Jules, “We’re out of time.” I looked behind us and saw water eating its way up the hall.

“Shit.”

“We’re not going to reach the upper decks,” said Seth, and the floor shuddered again, straightened out, then rolled sideways. More alarms were ringing, sounding the evacuation alert. 

“We’ll have to punch through the side,” he said. “Do any of you carry any water types?”

“No. One Dragonair. That’s it.” The ship groaned again, and the water raced towards us.

“Right.” He released three Pokémon; a Blastoise, a Poliwrath, and a Starmie.

“Grab on, and hold your breath. Blastoise will take Rob and me.” We recalled all of our Pokemon, and did as he said.

Seth tossed me a small canister. “Air,” he said, “but not much. A few breaths. Hopefully we won’t need it.”

I nodded.

“Hydro Pump,” said Seth, and a fountain of water shot out of the twin cannons on Blastoise’s back, slamming into the wall. Nothing happened.

“Too late. Our deck is well under already,” I said, letting go of Poliwrath and bracing myself against the wall. “We’re either going to have to wait for the ship to equalize - and try not to drown - or make it up top.”

“Not a chance,” said Seth, still holding Rob.

Julietta stepped forward. 

“Jules? What are you-”

She raised a hand and turned towards me and smiled; the barest twitch of her lip. “Hold on.”

I nodded, and looked at Seth. He went pale, but grabbed onto Blastoise’s enormous shell.

The wall exploded outwards in a burst of purple, and for a sickening moment I stared into the dark abyss of the sea.

And then it roared to meet us, knocking me back in a frigid wave. I clamped my eyes shut and held on to Poliwrath, who began to move beneath me. My body went weightless, and it dragged me forward with powerful strokes. It wasn’t long before my lungs began to scream, so I opened my eyes. They stung with salt, but I raised the oxygen tank to my mouth and took a breath. I saw nothing but darkness and the blurry shape of Poliwrath, but we were already shooting up towards the surface. 

Then I looked below us. The hazy outline of the massive cruise liner floated in nothingness, some of its deck lights still illuminated. The explosion had torn a massive hole through its side and it had only taken a few minutes to go under, all of its emergency systems overwhelmed. There had been no time for lifeboats. It grew smaller and smaller and, after an age, we reached air.Seth bobbed up beside me, holding Rob’s head above the water.

I looked around, gulping as much air as I could. “Where’s Jules?”

“I don’t see her,” said Seth. “I don’t know if she grabbed a Pokemon after blowing the ship apart with her mind. Which, incidentally, you haven’t explained.”

I spat out cold seawater. “We have to go back down.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Now. Poliwrath, help.” It didn’t move.

“There’s no chance, Mr. Afallon. I’m sorry. I’m not going to risk my Pokemon’s lives and the life of my witnesses.”

“Seth, if you don’t help me, I’ll tell Ninetales to tear out your throat when we do get to land.”

He looked at me.

“Now,” I said. I turned away and took as deep a breath as I could manage. Poliwrath dove. We swam downwards as rapidly as we had risen, and I kept my eyes wide despite the salt. The ship loomed before us, still bleeding light and debris. Men, women and children bobbed past, their bodies flotsam. I ignored them.

Poliwrath took us towards the hole in the hull. There, in the dark, was a faint purple glow. I tapped the Pokémon and it aimed for the dim light. My head started to swim and I took a single breath from the canister.

Julietta floated in the void, surrounded by the wreckage from the explosion. We slowed, and I grabbed her shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and I forced the oxygen tank into her mouth. No response. I took a breath for myself. The air was growing thinner. I tried again to get Julietta to breathe. No luck. And so I grabbed her nose, crushed my mouth against hers and blew as hard as I could, forcing air into her lungs. Her lips twitched beneath mine, and I reached for the canister. I filled my lungs with everything that remained, and breathed into her again. My head pounded. I tapped Poliwrath, and as the world went dark, I grabbed Julietta and hugged her between my body and the Pokemon.


	10. Chapter 10

Something hit me in the chest. I coughed and vomited, and salt burned up my throat. My eyes flickered open. The moon glared down at me and I retched again, saltwater and bile roiling up out of my gut. I gasped, pulling air into my lungs, and rolled onto my side, retching again and moaning.

“That’s twice you’ve done this to me,” said Julietta, sitting above me. Chandelure lit the beach in flickering light, and the moon outlined us all in cool, silver shadow.

“Hey,” I coughed into the sand. “You’re okay.” I wiped the sand and spit from the corner of my mouth.

“More than okay.” I rolled over, and then her mouth met mine.

“God, you taste disgusting. And your beard itches.”

My lungs felt like they were on fire. I coughed. “Part of my –”

“Shut up,” she said, and kissed me again. I grabbed her wet hair and pulled her closer.

“You look like shit,” said Rob’s voice. I pushed myself up and looked at him.

“Oh. It’s you.” Rob was smeared with blood and he had picked up an impressive black eye. “You look like a wet dog.” 

“You’re an idiot,” said Seth, sitting a few feet away and not looking at me. “I can’t believe you’re alive.”

“He’s too stubborn to die,” said Rob. 

“I can see that,” said Seth, and sighed. 

“What’s with you?” said Rob.

“Nothing. I just get the feeling I missed out.”

“Where are we?” I said.

“Not that far from the Marvelous Bridge,” said Seth. “A few miles, maybe. Once the sun comes up we’ll be able to see it.”

“The Pokémon?”

“All fine,” said Rob. 

Julietta helped me stand, and I stumbled when dizziness hit me. She caught me, pulled me upright again. “Thanks. Rob, how’s your head?”

“Hurts. I’m fine, though. Just a little woozy.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Almost too long,” said Seth. “When Poliwrath brought you to the surface, I didn’t think you’d open your eyes again.”

“I seem to be making a habit of this.”

“Julietta was awake, though, and the Pokemon brought us to shore.”

“Seth, did your people ever arrive?”

“They did. There wasn’t much they could do, though. Pretty grim. They tell me that maybe a quarter of the passengers made it to the lifeboats.”

I managed to stand without falling over.

“Okay then.” My head was pounding, my shoulder hurt, my chest ached, and my throat was raw. My voice came out in an ugly croak. “We should probably get moving. Can’t keep Aurea waiting, wherever she is.”

“What’s gotten into you?” said Julietta.

“Youthful vigor, maybe. Or a burning desire for vengeance. Rob, how you feeling?”

“Horrible. Ready when you are.”

“Jules?”

“Can’t wait to get to the desert. My tan’s fading.”

Seth stared at me. “Who are you people?”

I showed him my teeth. “Oh, just a bunch of unlucky kids caught up in something bad.”

***

“You’re telling me you think the Sisters are in some kind of league against you?”

I nodded. Seth made a face. The sand stretched out before us, and waves shushed against the shoreline. I found the sudden calm both welcome and unnerving.

“I’m serious. They’re all glitching crazily whenever we show up. The last Jenny we met pulled my name out of thin air. And then she tried to kill me.”

“Which is when Julietta, she, ah…”

“Right.”

Seth’s eyes flickered over Julietta. She stared him down.

“All we’re asking is that you don’t tell them about us. Aurea’s our friend too, and if your team is working with the Jennies there’s a good chance you’ve been compromised.”

“You realize that you sound insane?”

“Yeah. But what if we’re right?”

He sighed and fell silent.

“So you think you’ll find answers in the Yew Ruins?”

“Maybe,” said Julietta. “We hope so, at least. Back where it all began.”

“And then what?”

“We don’t know,” said Rob. “But probably violence.”

Seth nodded. “Been a lot of that lately.”

We reached the end of the long beach, and began to climb across the dunes. My shoes were off, and I shivered in my wet clothes. But the sky grew lighter as we walked, and soon the first rosy fingers of dawn appeared in the East.

“Well,” said Seth, as we crossed from sandy beach into rocky scrub, “I suppose I’ll take my leave of you now.”

I turned. “You’re not coming?”

“I have other places to be. A colleague of mine may have a lead on Azile’s employer.”

“No more interest in taking us back to HQ?”

“Would you come if I asked nicely?”

“No.” 

“Didn’t think so. We’ll split up here, and meet up in two weeks at the exit to the Desert Resort. Two weeks. Can you handle that?”

“Are we going to have problems with your HARA friends? I assume they know we’re alive after the shipwreck.”

“It seemed prudent not to mention our method of escape. In fact, I may have neglected to mention you at all. I’ll let the team know not to pry, though.”

“Good of you.”

“A selfish decision, I’m afraid. I have a feeling we’re going to need all the help we can get, and you are, if nothing else,” and he paused to look again at Julietta, “Capable. There’s the bridge. It’ll take you four days to get to the Desert Resort from here, on foot. And, for now, I’ll say nothing to the Jennies.”

I nodded.

“I can’t deny that we’ve had some strange interactions with them recently. I’ll wait to see what comes of the shipwreck, but I’m trusting you. I hope I don’t regret this.”

“How do we contact you?” said Rob.

“You don’t. You don’t exist, remember? If you’re dead in fourteen days, I never met you. You’re on your own.”

“Thank God,” said Julietta and walked away from us. “I seriously need some breathing room.”

Seth frowned after her, and then caught my eye. I grinned. “See you in two weeks.”

He shook his head. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” I said. We left him behind, muttering into his transmitter.

“He’s an okay dude,” said Rob.

“Sure,” I said.

“Hope he doesn’t die,” said Julietta.

“Sure,” I said, smiling. The sun burst above the horizon and we tracked towards it, leaving soggy footprints in the sand.

***

“So,” I said.

“Adrenaline,” said Julietta. “Exhilaration at being alive. Endorphin rush. People do weird things after near-death experiences.”

“Oh? Purely chemical, then?”

“Purely.”

We walked a few more steps in silence.

“But,” she said.

“But?”

“It wasn’t completely disgusting.”

“Have you forgotten that I’m standing right here?” said Rob. Ninetales, trotting along in front of us, snorted without looking back.

Julietta laughed and bumped him with her shoulder. He smiled over at us, and I turned my attention to the horizon.Just as Seth had said, the Marvelous Bridge had appeared before us, shining in the growing light. We walked towards it for another hour, until we arrived beneath it at the entrance to the pedestrian walkway.

“Big,” said Rob, looking up at the soaring creation.

“Huge,” I said.

“Wow,” said Julietta.

“I should make a penis joke, but I don’t have the energy,” said Rob.

“Come on,” I said.

We climbed the long flight of stairs that rises up to the bridge, and stepped out onto the futuristic walkway. It stretched into the distance, empty. The wind breathed through the spars above us , and Braviary and Skarmory rode the ocean breeze.

“Quiet up here,” said Rob.

“Still early, I guess,” I said.

“Doesn’t strike me as a pedestrian destination,” said Julietta. 

Sweat prickled my neck as the sun rose higher, reflecting off the bright metal and pavement.“Getting hot. Can’t wait to see what the desert is like.”

“It’ll take us at least two hours to cross,” said Julietta. “And we’ll need to stop for supplies before we hit the desert. Again.”

I looked down at my ruined blazer, trousers and boots, everything stiff and stained with salt. “You don’t think I look ready?”

“Wish we hadn’t lost everything,” said Rob.

“At least we made it off the ship,” said Julietta, looking out over the water. We followed her gaze. I tried not to picture bodies floating in hazy darkness.

“How’s your shoulder, Niall?” said Rob.

“Not so great, I think. I fell on it pretty hard, and hanging on to that giant tadpole wasn’t a wonderful experience. You?”

“Headache.”

“Me too,” said Julietta. “Like I’ve been staring into the sun.”

“I would like to meet that woman’s boss,” I said, after a moment of silence.

“And punch him in the throat,” said Julietta.

“A few other places, too” said Rob.

“You think Aurea’s okay?”

“Hope so.”

“At least they saved your mom,” said Julietta.

“Yeah.”

Braviary’s shrill cry broke the still air. 

“Now what?” I said, as the sound of bells chimed in the distance.

Rob shielded his eyes and peered ahead. “Are those...bicycles?”

“Might as well let them pass,” said Julietta.

The bicycles grew larger, and turned into a group of a couple dozen teenagers. Their bikes were silver and flashy, decorated with unwieldy handlebars and metal studs. The riders were dressed in cut-off shirts, boots, and ragged jeans. Dinging their bells and grunting, they split into rings and surrounded us in two slow-moving circles.

“A bicycle gang,” said Rob. “You must be joking.”

The bicycles stopped. A young man hopped off one of them. Instead of leather and denim, he wore a loose blazer, a white shirt, and cropped trousers. He brushed the long hair out of his face and cocked a baseball bat over his shoulder, turned, and took in the sunrise for several long seconds.

“Beautiful,” he sighed, and then turned to us. “Now, what brings you to my bridge?”

Rob stared at him in open disbelief.

“We’re walking across it,” I said. “To get to the other side.”

The kid’s smile faltered for a moment.

“You wanna cross, you’re gonna have to pay the toll.”

“You must be joking,” said Rob.

“Oh?” I said. “And are you the toll collectors?”

“We’re the Lads,” he said, gesturing lazily with his bat at the kids behind him, “and this is our turf.”

High above us, I heard Braviary’s impatient cry. The kid didn’t notice. 

“They say that everything hits at once,” I said, and rubbed my eyes with my right hand.

“This has to be a joke,” said Rob.

“I don’t think he’s kidding, but I’m not sure I have the energy for this,” I said.

“I could make an exception,” said Rob.

The guy with the bat looked back and forth between us.

“Something funny?” he said, loud enough for the kids behind him to hear. 

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” said Rob.

“Inside joke,” I said.

“Pay up,” he interrupted, taking a step forward.

“Does your mother know you’re out here doing this?” said Rob. The kid paused. There was muttering behind him.

“You scared, Haji?” said one of the kids in the circle. His arms were crossed and he sat on the cross-beam of his bicycle, blond mohawk unaffected by the sea breeze.

“Shut up, James” he snapped, and then turned back to me and Rob. “You got a lot of lip for some chumps we got surrounded.”

“Kid, the older you get, the more you begin to realize that numbers don’t mean shit. Now, is this farce going to last all day? We’re in a hurry.” I took a step forward. 

“A toll’s a toll,” he said, moving back and swinging the bat around. “No exceptions.” He tossed out a pokeball, sort of low and casual, and a Flareon appeared. I tried not to laugh.

“You seriously must be joking,” said Rob.

The small Pokémon growled as loudly as it could, its fur bristling. The kid smirked.“Or,” he said, “does this have to get ugly?”

Julietta’s Gengar appeared from her belt, towering over the Flareon and grinning. The growling and smirking stopped.

“I’m sick of this. Out of the way, kid,” she said.

“We’re not scared of that ugly purple lump,” he said. His friends made noises of approval. “Flareon! Ember!”

A thin stream of flame shot out of its mouth at Gengar, who disappeared, rematerialized behind the Flareon, and kicked it in the rump. It flipped over its own head, landed on its back and squeaked. Gengar cackled, stamping his feet and hopping up and down. 

“Now,’ said Julietta, “I am in an astoundingly good mood, considering the events of the last six hours. That said, my head is killing me and I am losing patience. Are we done here?

“Flareon, get him!”

The Pokémon dove forward in a wild tackle attack, and Gengar faded into mist, clipping its paw with an arm as it passed. The Flareon crashed into the concrete again, and Gengar collapsed into a fit of mirth. Julietta recalled him and started to walk forward.

Haji’s face turned beet red, and the kids behind him hooted with laughter.

“Enough!” he said. He brushed his hair back and pointed his bat at Julietta. “Let’s you and me dance instead, pretty lady.”

“Mistake,” said Rob.

Haji skipped towards her and lifted the bat. Purple light flared, and his body froze mid-swing, suspended several inches above the bridge. There were no sounds from the ring of bicycles. 

“A few thoughts,” said Julietta, as the now-familiar wind roared out from her. “One: you’re a shit trainer. When I was your age – well, let’s not go there. Two: ditch the gang. Three: a few hours ago, I blew a hole through the hull of a cruise ship with nothing more than my mind, right after my friend here turned a Metagross into scrap metal. Now, I have an excruciating migraine, maybe because I almost drowned and my two best friends almost died.A lot of other people, innocent people, did die. The same kind of people you’ve been shaking down for cash for who knows long now. I’m not impressed. In fact, I am very, very pissed off.” 

Haji’s face was frozen in an expression that suggested he might lose control of his bladder.

“Even so, I had a lovely dinner last night and have seen more than enough dead bodies in the last forty-eight hours to last me until the end of my life, so despite the drowning, near-death experiences, headaches and explosions, I’m going to put you down now. If you lift that bat again, ever, I’ll snap both of your arms off, even if it means coming all the way back to this godforsaken slab of concrete to do it. Understood?”

Haji’s eyes widened. He dropped to the ground with a thud. 

“Good. Now that’s over with, too. Kid, get the fuck out of our way.”

We walked through the ring of bicyclists, who were suddenly very eager to let us past. I was a little dizzy, and not from my bruises.

“Very generous of you, Jules,” said Rob, strolling past them with his hands in his pockets.

“Teenagers,” she said. “What can you do?”

“Wait!”

Julietta rolled her eyes and we turned.

“Kid, what did I just –”

Haji was on his knees behind us, prostrating himself in front of Julietta. The rest of the gang knelt behind him, kissing the pavement.

“Teach me your ways, Sis!” he yelled into the concrete. Julietta raised an eyebrow and looked at me. I made a face. Rob just tapped his foot.

“Excuse me?”

“Teach me how to be strong!” he yelled. “Teach me how to fight! I’m begging you!”

She paused and glanced at me. I shrugged. 

“Give me three bicycles and we’ll talk.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I am not getting on that.” Rob stared at the ridiculous chrome monstrosity that a terrified teenager wheeled beside him. 

“Deal with it,” said Julietta. She had spent the last hour telling Rob all the things she had told me over dinner the night before. Her voice hadn’t quivered once, and I got the feeling both Rob and I understood why she’d agreed to tolerate Haji’s presence. 

“First things first,” she said to Haji, who trotted along beside her, pushing his own bicycle. “Enough with the gang stuff. Your Flareon is a joke. Start training. Really training. Gyms, friendly battles, anything you can find. Against willing opponents, you get me? Strong opponents. Start feeding it better. See how thin it is?”

Flareon chirruped.

“Yes, Sis. Where are you going now, Sis?”

“Desert. Unfinished business.”

“What kind of business?”

Julietta groaned. “Not your business.”

“We can help, Sis!”

“Kid, you are not going to want to be around us for the next few weeks. Potentially ever again, actually.”

“Let us help! We’re tough. We can fight.”

“Bats aren’t any good where we’re going.”

“We’ll do anything!”

“Haji,” I cut in, “I don’t suppose you have any desert survival gear squirreled away?”

He pursed his lips.

“What do you need, Boss?”

“Everything. Water bottles, clothing, footwear, eye-gear. We lost it all in the shipwreck.”

“Have no fear,” he said, bowing low. “Anything for Sis’s chosen one. We’ll have it for you within the hour.” He barked some orders at the other kids, and a group of them pedaled into the distance, whooping.

“It will be waiting for you at the end of the bridge, Boss.”

“Thanks.”

“Boss?” Rob said.

“Guess he knows who’s in charge,” I said.

Julietta whacked me in the back of the head.

“You. Don’t even start.”

“Yes, Sis,” I said, and she whacked me again. Rob laughed.

Julietta spent the next two hours telling Haji that he was useless while he thanked her profusely. The sun was high, and walking felt nice. I introduced him to Braviary and Ninetales (but not Dragonair), and he was both amazed and terrified when Julietta summoned her team. Espeon, in particular, piqued his interest.

“See that, Flareon? Someday we’ll be that strong.” 

I laughed. “That’ll take work, Haji.”

“I’m a hard worker, Boss.” He sounded so earnest that I just nodded. The Flareon gave an assertive little bark, and Espeon circled it, sniffing. She sat back, looked at Julietta, and blinked.

“Not just work,” said Julietta, “Trust, too.” 

Flareon and Haji looked at each other, and then bowed at her. “We’ll do our best, Sis. Next time we meet, you’ll see. We’ll be stronger.” He stopped as the end of the bridge appeared. “This is as far as we can take you. We have some disagreements with the Jennies on that side of the bridge.”

“I bet,” Julietta said. “Listen, Haji, you and your friends stay away from the Jennies for a while, okay? On both sides of the bridge. Can you do that? It’s not safe. Really not safe. Less safe than me, okay?”

“Sure, Sis. Whatever you say.”

“Good. If you’re lucky, you’ll never see us again.”

A group of teens were waiting with two large boxes, stuffed with clothing, camping gear, and maps.

“Haji, where did you get this stuff?”

He didn’t answer. Julietta looked at him. He looked down.

“Sorry, Sis.”

“No more, okay?”

“Yes, Sis.”

We stuffed three mismatched rucksacks with everything we thought we’d need – ponchos, full water bottles, socks and underwear and clothes that Haji assured us would fit perfectly, maps, and even knives.

“Knives?” said Julietta. Haji didn’t meet her eyes. She stood and settled her pack on her shoulders.

“Sis! Wait! I want you to take this.”

Haji bowed again and thrust his bicycle out at her.

“You seriously want me to ride that?”

“It would be a great honor,” he said, his eyes closed.

Julietta sighed and rubbed her temples. 

“Do it, Jules,” said Rob. “You’ll look great.”

“All right, all right. Thanks, Haji. Stay safe, okay?”

“Yes, Sis. We’ll meet again.”

“Unlikely.”

“We’ll see you again, Sis,” he said. “You’re a Lad, now. Once a Lad, always a Lad.”

She shook her head again, but when she turned away I saw her smile. We mounted our bikes and, to a chorus of bells and hollering, left the Lads behind.

***

As we headed West along Route 16, the landscape began return to the dry scrub similar to that we’d see on our trek into Castelia. It was hillier, though, and around us began to rise bizarre spires that looked as though they’d been made of dripped, wet sand. Green sage covered the ground in the places where soil didn’t give way to the bare rock. Away from the winds that buffeted the Marvelous Bridge the temperature rose quickly, and soon we were sweating. I rode in front, and Julietta brought up the rear. It seemed that she had used all of her energy on the bravado she’d shown Haji, and whenever I turned to glance at her she looked pale but motioned me on with a dismissive wave. 

We turned south on one of the smaller routes to avoid Nimbasa city, and the further we went, the drier and hotter it became. The drip-castles didn’t last, and there was little to see. Route Four, the road that we were to ultimately join on our way into the desert, may be an official, maintained route, but we weren’t on it, and travelers were very few. The only evidence of civilization was the occasional signpost, the trail itself, and the abandoned remnants of construction sites; prideful and doomed attempts to extend humanity’s reach into the barrens.

After two days on the road, Espeon chirruped, and, cresting what passed for a hill in that part of the country, we finally reached the Route 4 turn-off to the desert resort. Somewhere far behind us lay the lush greenery of Lostlorn Forest, but our destination was East and South.

That night, we had our first taste of camping in the desert. We would reach the edge of the dunes the next day, but the scrubland had already begun to give way to patches of open sand. The sky was clear, and the temperature dropped rapidly as soon as night fell. Ninetales lit a fire with the dry twigs we’d collected on our way, and all of us squeezed in close to it, surprised to be so grateful for the warmth. Route Four was not a hard trail, but our feet were tired after a long day of walking and riding. We passed around the jerky and the fruit, and Houndoom and Ninetales amused themselves by hunting the large mice that nested beneath the stunted, loneley scrub.

“What do you think we’ll find at this desert resort?” said Rob.

“Water, for one thing,” I said. We’d barely tapped our reserves over the last two days, but I was anxious to fill the bottles before we left the scrubland behind.

“Jules, you want any more of this?” Rob held up the jerky. “Jules,” he said again when she didn’t answer.

“Yeah, I’ll have some.” She took a piece, passed the packet to me, and I chewed on a strip of tough meat. Nighttime seemed to be when Julietta got lost in thought. Not for the first time I wondered why Zapdos had really taken an ‘interest’ in her. I wanted the old Julietta back. The sharp-tongued, snarky one, who kept Rob and me in line.

“When this is over,” I said, “I’d like to go back to Sinnoh.”

“Yeah?” said Rob. “Almost freeze to death again?”

“It was beautiful up there. I want to spend some time in those mountains to the south of Lake Acuity, where you can look up and see Mount Coronet.”

“I’d like that, too,” said Julietta. When I looked at her, she smiled. I swallowed. Maybe nothing had changed.

Maybe everything.

“I’m turning in,” said Rob. “Another long hike tomorrow. We should see the desert resort before sundown, though.”

Soon enough, the sound of his snoring filled the camp. I sat with my knees drawn in, my insulator draped around my shoulders. Julietta walked over and sat down on my left.

“You okay?” she asked 

“She always lit our fires at night. She was my first Pokemon. And my first friend.”

“She was my friend too.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath. Julietta had her eyes squeezed shut.

“You sure you’re feeling ok?” I said.

“Probably.Well, maybe. Every time I...snap, I get these headaches. They’re getting worse.”

“If I’d known it would do this to you,” I began, and then didn’t know how to finish. “What the hell was Brad thinking?”

“He told us he wasn’t sure what would happen. We don’t really know what did happen.”

“Still.” 

Julietta scooted closer and leaned against me. I leaned back. It felt good, to share our warmth.

“Niall.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m trying.”

“I know you are, Jules.”

“I can feel her pull even stronger now. I don’t know why. The closer we get to the desert. Like she’s calling to me back. Away from this place. Like she wants me to join her.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. The sea, maybe. The lighthouse. Somewhere far away from here. Somewhere far away from everything.”

I was silent. The embers burned lower. For a moment I thought I smelled ozone.

“Niall,” she said again.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t let me go.”

“Never,” I said. 

We sat like that, her head leaning on my bad shoulder, until the coals died and sleep took us.

***

After the last four days, the normalcy of the Desert Resort was a shock. It wasn’t a resort at all, more like a welcoming and restocking station; it had information on the desert that lay beyond it, lists of popular day-hikes, a campsite with water and electricity - and no Pokemon Center. But it was populated, and the simple act of exchanging platitudes with strangers put all of us on edge.

The Desert Resort is situated just where the high scrub that we had passed through bleeds into the rolling dunes of the desert. Looking out over the sand was like looking at the ocean; endless and unsettling.We arrived at midday after hiking all morning, just when the sun was hitting its zenith. It was hot. We filled our canteens at the public pump, and took relief under the shade structures that did, at least, keep the sun off of us. 

The fire pokemon were ecstatic. Ninetales and Houndoom were as energetic as I had ever seen them, and even Sandslash basked in the pounding heat. Rob’s Steelix was underground somewhere, and Braviary and Skarmory wheeled high above our heads. Not everyone was pleased, however. Espeon had taken a single sniff of the scorched air and returned to her pokeball - to say nothing of the ghosts - and Dragonair hadn’t deigned to emerge. Perhaps the night would find them more affable; but as we sat, sweating, in the pitiful shade, retreating into a pokeball seemed hugely appealing.

Julietta had a map spread out over her knees. Sweat beaded on her nose, fell onto the heavy paper. She cursed, and glared at me when I laughed.

“How far to the dig site?” I asked.

“Far. Four days, three nights. That doesn’t give us much time, if we’re going to meet up with Seth.”

“Eh,” I said, tossing a pebble at the shade structure. “We don’t owe him anything.”

“Nothing?”

“What, you’re having a change of heart?”

“Well, he did help us out.” Julietta wasn’t paying attention to me.

“Niall’s just being juvenile,” said Rob.

“I am not.”

“Oh? So you really didn’t mind how Seth was smiling at – ”

“Fine! Whatever! We can meet him!”

“Will you two shut up? It’s hard enough to figure out where to go without the two of you talking about – what were you saying about Seth?”

Rob wrinkled his nose at me. I gave him a blank stare, and he draped his shirt back over his head.

“We can follow one of these marked paths for half of the first day, but then we’ll have to cut north into the dunes.” She pointed to a spot on the map. “Here’s the Yew excavation. Cadney said it was small, not much media coverage. Remember those big-ass ruins they uncovered a couple years ago?” I nodded. You could still visit them as long as you had an official guide. “Well, these ones aren’t nearly as big on the outside, I don’t think. Just some holes dug in the ground.”

“And some First Civ weaponry,” said Rob from where he was sprawled out on the sand with a shirt over his head.

“And that. Either way, we’ll know more when we find them.”

“Would you rather die of dehydration or frostbite?” Rob asked.

“Where did that come from?” I said.

“I’d pick frostbite,” said Rob. 

“Morbid. Me too,” said Julietta, not looking up from the map.

“I’d pick not dying,” I said.

“I hear that when you die of dehydration you go mad first,” said Rob. “Start thinking you can hear water underground. Seeing lights and stuff. Hearing voices. You start digging, with your hands, until your fingers don’t have any skin left on ‘em. You go mad and you choke on your swollen tongue. But if you get too cold, you just drift off to sleep. You get really warm at the end, but it’s just your body fooling you. And then it’s over.”

“Why are we talking about this?” I asked. 

Rob didn’t emerge from underneath his shirt. “Just thinking.”

“We’ve got plenty of water,” Julietta said. “And somehow I don’t think we’ll be at risk of frostbite, at least not in the near future.”

“Hey, desert nights get cold,” said Rob. “We wouldn’t want anyone getting hypothermic. Jules, if you start feeling shivery, you can share my-“

I chucked a water bottle at him. “What happened to Cadney?”

Rob laughed and sat up. “You know, I actually tried that line once? Yeah. With a girl I knew in the Academy. You remember Sai?”

“Shut up,” I said, “she must have laughed in your face.”

“She did. She laughed so hard that snot came out of her nose. But it earned me a good-night kiss.”

“You are incredible,” Julietta muttered.

“So they tell me,” Rob said, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head again.

I took a swig of water. We planned to hike in the mornings and evenings, sheltering from the sun during the hottest part of the day.

I looked back towards the information center. We had seen folks on Route Four, headed out this way, but there weren’t many people at the public campsite when we’d passed it. I guess it takes a specific kind of traveler to want to go give themselves heat-stroke for fun. The only people we saw were Pokemon trainers, for the most part, daring the sun and the sands. We planned to leave in an hour or two, once the sun had started its descent, and we’d see how far we could get before pitching camp. We were only a day or two from the full moon, so we’d be able to hike after night fell. 

Julietta was still staring at the map. Behind me, I heard Rob begin to snore. I closed my eyes. 

I dreamed of the crackle of lightning, of falling through the clouds towards a sea of sand below, of drowning beneath the earth. I woke to Rob shaking me.

“It’s time,” he said. I rubbed my eyes, wetted my mouth with a canteen. The sun was starting to sink into the West. We refilled what we had drunk, and struck out into the desert. 


	12. Chapter 12

The pokemon lead us in silence, and we made good time along the flat, marked trail. After a few hours the sun began to dip closer to the horizon, making us anxious for the cool of night, and Julietta pointed north.

“Here,” she said, stabbing a finger at her map, “This is where we leave the trail. It loops back to the resort, and we have to keep heading north.”

“We’ve got a couple hours of daylight left to us,” said Rob, “We should be good for a ways yet.”

“This is when it gets difficult,” said Julietta. “We’re heading into the dunes. Nothing now but open sand. We’ll be in the wilds until we hit the dig.”

“We’ve got enough water for twelve more days,” I said, patting Ninetales on the side. He panted, but the heat didn’t affect him like it did us. 

“Four out, four back, that leaves four at the dig site,” said Rob.

“I’d rather not cut it that close,” I said, “assuming we can’t find water at the excavation.”

“Cadney said there would be,” said Julietta.

“You never know. And we’re not planning to spend four days at the dig site anyway.”

My pack was bothering me. I had stuffed as much of the heavy supplies as I could into Rob and Julietta’s bags, but the strap still pressed against my shoulder.

Julietta noticed my discomfort. “Why don’t we give that to Steelix?” she said.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t be stupid. Cadney told you to take it easy, and you’ve done anything but. I’m surprised you can even move that arm. Rob, get Steelix to carry this, will you?”

“Sure,” said Rob, and a minute later the giant steel pokemon had my pack balanced atop his head. I felt a little silly not carrying anything, but my shoulder hurt less.

“No reason not to let it heal,” said Rob. “As much as you can, at least.” I nodded, and touched the ugly scar through my sweaty shirt.

“C’mon,” said Julietta, “we’ve got a ways to go before we camp, and it really is going to be tougher.”

She was right. The sand slid and shifted beneath our feet, and we struggled along the spines of the dunes. We were still in the ‘foothills,’ where the winds were calmest and the dunes were smallest, but even hiking along the relatively flat landscape was a chore.I began to wonder what we would do when we hit the center of the desert. Dunes as tall as buildings, Cadney had told us. It seemed years ago that we had been at the lighthouse.

“They say people used to live here,” Rob said. “Before the unification. Nomadic tribes that spent their lives in the desert.”

“What happened to them?” Julietta said. 

“Civilization, I guess.The Routes made the world smaller, the Sisters made life easier. It got harder to live off the grid.”

“We do okay,” I said.

“We do, but there’s only three of us. Not a lot of empty space left these days.”

Whatever war had ended the First Civilization had, supposedly, nearly ended the species. Even if it had been true then, it certainly wasn’t now. Under the guidance of the Sisters, humanity had reached a comfortable and stable population level rather than the mad flux of boom and decay that had characterized pre-Unification humanity. 

I still found it hard to believe what Julietta had told me about her childhood. About the Sisters’ silent complicity in the horrors of her childhood, and by extension, the continued presence of such horrors around the world. Not even the state-run news agencies tried to tell us that we lived in a utopia, but the Jennies more or less mitigated any large-scale conflicts. 

We had always wondered how they communicated so effectively without a centralized force. It seemed very obvious now, even if I could barely believe my own hypothesis. And were I to be on the mark, it still gave us no answers. You couldn’t buy a Sister. You couldn’t break a Sister. That was the point. And yet we were being hunted, of that we were all sure. And it was damn clear that the Sisters were involved in it, somehow. Especially since, to my knowledge, we hadn’t done anything particularly illegal.

I occupied myself with unpleasant thoughts as the evening dragged. The sun sank and sank and finally vanished, and the heat lessened.We kept walking, and one by one the stars blinked into the sky. We continued in moonlight, the sands now silver under our feet. We began to straighten our backs, to look around us at the unending desert after hunching our bodies against the heat for hours.

Julietta’s Chandelure floated along in front, lighting our way with her spirit-glow. Gengar rode the shadows, popping up occasionally to make sure Julietta was paying attention to him, and Espeon walked beside us. Dragonair had come out of her pokeball as the sun set, and now drifted on some unseen breeze. We hiked along, content under the cool light of the moon. It made the desert seem almost livable. Beautiful, even.

An hour later, we broke for camp. We pitched no tents, but spread out under the sky and watched shooting stars leave trails across the dark. Julietta was lost in thought, and I was happy to give her time to think.

We woke the next day before dawn, and after a breakfast of Haji’s fruits and nuts we set off once more. The day seemed hotter and longer, and we had soaked through our lightweight clothes by the time we broke at noon. The heat sucked our desire to talk, and so we rested in makeshift sunshades without speaking. The second afternoon passed much as the first had; afternoon running into purple evening and then into the magical desert night, and once again we slept beneath the open sky.

The third day passed without incident, and when we made camp that evening we talked strategy.

“We should hit the dig site around noon,” said Julietta.

“And what are we supposed to do when we get there?” said Rob. “I’m still fuzzy on that one.”

“Learn what we can,” I said. “Talk to whoever we can, I guess. See what we can.”

“Seth said the Jennies control the dig site,” Julietta said. “That’s a problem.”

“So we avoid them,” I said. “We’ve been sneaky before.”

It didn’t seem like much, but it was all we had. We were hot and tired and cranky, and left the conversation at that. We tried to sleep without dwelling on it.

Once more, we greeted the day with nuts and fruits, took up our supplies (Steelix again carried mine), and continued through the sands.

Braviary stopped us well before noon. We heard a screech from above, and he and Skarmory landed in front of us, squawking. Braviary eyed me and bobbed his head.

“Guess they found it,” said Julietta. “I figured we’d hit it soon.” She made to continue forward, but Braviary hopped in front of her and flapped his wings.

“He’s telling us be careful,” I said. “Go slow.”

“The site should be just over the next couple of dunes,” said Julietta. “We’ll able to get a look at it without being seen.” We hiked on in careful silence, the dogs padding ahead with their noses low. Ninetales growled as we crested the first dune and Houndoom echoed him, hackles raised. If Braviary hadn’t already put us on our guard, that would have done it. 

Rob returned Steelix and Skarmory to stasis, and I did my best not to let the pain of carrying the pack show on my face. Braviary had taken to the skies after delivering his warning, and once again had shrunk to a tiny dot, far above us. 

We reached the base of the next dune and climbed it inch by inch, dropping into a crouch as we neared the top. We stopped just underneath its knife-edge lip, and peered over.

A plain of sorts stretched before us; a valley of sand with a flattened, even base. At its bottom was an unassuming collection of floodlights, cars, temporary buildings, holes, and...guards. 

“Look at their uniforms,” said Julietta. “Black.”

“Not very secretive, are they?” said Rob.

“I was right,” I said. “Look at that.” Mingling with the black-clad guards were several Jennies.

Rob exhaled. “Damn. No question, now.”

“That’s a lot of guards,” I said.

“Yeah,” Rob said, “And a lot of Houndour. No Growlithe, though. That’s good.”

“And strange. I wonder why not?”

At the largest hole, in the very center of the camp, a group appeared, hiking out from under the earth. We couldn’t see much from where we were, but we could make out a collection of lab coats and black uniforms. At the front of the procession walked a figure dressed in a long gray coat.

We slid back under the lip of the dune. “Now what?” said Rob.

“Wait for nightfall,” said Julietta. “Whoever these people are, they’re in control of the dig site.”

“We’ll need to get into the ruins,” I said, “and try to figure out what’s going on.”

“Looks like they’re leaving” said Rob. The group of black-clad guards climbed into the back of one of the large vehicles, which drove out of the camp along a road of packed sand. “I wonder if there are any still down there?”

We watched the camp for another two hours, but saw no one else emerge. Most of the group that we had seen come out of the hole in the ground had gone into the various buildings around the site, and hadn’t reappeared.

“Lots of light tonight,” said Julietta. “We can sneak in and take a look around.”

“Let’s get some rest, then,” I said. “The sun is giving me a headache.”

We retreated down the slope, hiked back the way we had come, and set up a small camp in the shade of a large dune and waited. 

The afternoon passed in heat and sweat. I tried and failed to nap, and even the fire Pokémon sheltered from the sun. Night fell; colors painted the sky in long, brilliant streaks.

Still we waited. Houndoom paced, and Ninetales sat, silent, in the cleft of the dune. Even Gengar was still.

We hiked the ridge in the moonlight and made our way across the sands toward the dig site, stopping at the same crest from which we had observed the facility that afternoon. The floodlights we had seen were off, but the moon was still so bright that we could see well enough to walk. There was no sign of guards, and so we descended the dune; Ninetales and Houndoom slinking before us, Braviary and Skarmory overhead, the ghost Pokémon flickering in and out of moon-shadow. We arrived in the center of camp and ducked into the darkness behind one of the trailers.

“The hole those people came out of is right over there,” whispered Rob.

Julietta nodded, and Gengar appeared next to it, staring into the ground before turning his grinning face towards us.

“Let’s go,” said Julietta, and we ran in a crouch to the mouth of the tunnel – for that was what it was, we realized, as we descended a metal stairway that led straight down into the earth. We paused again to let the ghost Pokémon do their reconnaissance, then followed them down a descending corridor. Chandelure stayed with us, lighting our path, and we stopped often to listen. We encountered no one, and the air grew even colder as we went further and further underground. 

After a half an hour of gradual but constant descent, we reached an arched entryway, reinforced with a very new-looking metal scaffold, and emerged in a much larger cavern. Chandelure fanned her flames, and the three of us gasped when the contents of the room were revealed to us.

Before us was a large, blocky building, hulking and squat in the shadows cast by ghostlight. The harsh, angular lines were nothing like the smooth architecture of the cities we knew.

“First Civ,” whispered Julietta. “It’s ancient.”

She sounded so certain of herself that I gave her a second glance. She didn’t notice.

We walked toward the buried building in silence, and our scuffed footsteps echoed off ceiling and walls that remained hidden in darkness.

“It must have taken forever to excavate this,” I said. Julietta stopped in front of me and I bumped into her. She stared up into the black, and again the smell of ozone burned my nostrils.

“Jules?”

“Sorry. Let’s go.”

We caught up with Rob, who was halfway across the massive cavern.Side by side, the three of us reached the building and looked up at it.Every surface was flat, grey; every angle a perfect 90 degrees. It towered above us and out of sight, and holes gaped in the walls where windows must have once been. The air was dry, and there was no scent of decay.

“What was this place?” I wondered out loud. I reached out my hand and placed it against the dull, grey wall.

“A production facility.” A voice boomed through the cavern, and floodlights blinded us. We shielded our eyes and crouched down, trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from. Ninetales and Houndoom growled into the light. We could see nothing, save for a single silhouetted shape near the tunnel from which we had entered.

Lights burst on in sequence around the perimeter of the cave, revealing the owner of the voice to us – and a troupe of a dozen or so black-clad guards, all accompanied by Houndour.

It was a man, of middling height and slender build. Light stubble covered his face, and he was dressed in a long, gray cloak of tattered fabric. Everything he wore was the color of the earth, even the fingerless gloves that covered his palms. He walked towards us, stopping ten feet away and clasping his hands behind his back.

“But, sadly, an empty and broken one. Hello! My name is Theoh. Do you like my cave?”

“Who are you?” said Rob.

“I just told you - and yet you still haven’t introduced yourselves.”

“No matter,” he continued, ignoring the low growl of our pokemon, “I know who you are anyway. Rob, Niall, and Julietta,” he said, looking at us in order. “Professor Ventus told me all about you.”

“Where is she?” snarled Julietta.

“Oh, she’s not here,” said Theoh. “She was very useful, for a time.”

“You had better not have hurt her,” I said.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I didn’t, much. And I stopped once she told me what I wanted to know. I am very persuasive. She’s dead now, though – there’s a limit to how useful one human can be.” 

We had all known, somehow. But hearing it out loud made it real, and the breath went out of me in a whoosh. I took a step forward, but Theoh raised a hand.

“Ah,” he said. “I’d stay where you are. Lots of guns, you know?” He gestured around us, where the guards had spread out in a circle.

“Now, as we’ve concluded pleasantries, I’d very much appreciate if you’d give me the Fuel that you’re carrying.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know very well what I’m talking about. The Fuel. The shard of the ancient weapon that destroyed the First Civilization? I want it.”

“You said this was a production facility. Of what?”

Theoh laughed, and it echoed off the distant walls. “What do you think? Fuel, of course! This is where the very piece you have was produced. Yes, that ugly lump of metal was made here millennia ago, back when this desert was lush, green land, and this huge building lived above the ground. Poor Yew,” he said, and shook his head with an expression that looked more like mockery than sorrow. “He made the discovery of a lifetime. If only he had known that I’d discovered it first - of course, some secrets have to be kept.”

“You killed him.”

“Not me, no. I believe you met Miss Azile, though? Her Kabutops was responsible for Yew’s demise, I’m afraid - just as you were no doubt responsible for hers.”

“She blew herself up along with a cruise ship,” Julietta spat, “and killed thousands of innocent people.”

“Yes, well, she was always a bit overzealous.”

“You’re awfully flippant for a mass murderer,” I said.

Theoh’s eyes grew very hard. “What you don’t understand is that any number of casualties is acceptable, boy. I have plans.”

I didn’t want to oblige him by asking, but I did anyway. “Plans?”

He smiled and the calm, almost friendly expression returned to his face. He turned and raised both of his arms. 

“This is where they forged their own destruction. Most of the Fuel is inert now, or was burned out in the First War or in the thousands of years that followed. It’s dead, deader than stone.Some is not. Some is very much alive – or can be brought back to life. The piece you have, for example. I have more like it. Oh, yes, I have more Fuel that is far from dead. Enough to remake the world, if I saw fit. Remake it in fire, that is. The talents of the First Civilization were limited, after all.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m saner than any man would wish to be. If I could go back - well, no. Someone has to see this through.” He trailed off at the end, as though he were talking not to us, but to himself - as if he needed convincing. And then his eyes snapped back onto me and his voice regained its edge. “The Fuel.”

“Even if I had such a thing, why would I give it to you?” I was edging away from Julietta, and Theoh hadn’t noticed yet.

“Because I want it, and that is reason enough. Because I’ll kill you if you don’t. Where,” he said, and turned to look at me, “do you think you would even escape to?”

I stopped and stood, met his eye.

“I don’t have it.”

He pursed his lips. “I see. Either you’re an excellent liar, or you’re telling the truth. It doesn’t matter much, in the end. I have enough already. In either case, I’m going to pay a visit to our mutual friends at the lighthouse, and I’m sure they’ll be more forthcoming. Now, I admit that I haven’t been entirely truthful with the three of you. And now the last piece of the puzzle stands before me.” His eyes found Julietta.

“What are you—” He lifted something metallic from a fold in his cloak, and we heard a sharp hiss. Julietta gasped, and slumped to her knees. I grabbed her as she fell, a silver dart protruding from her neck. Her Pokémon disappeared into their pokeballs in flashes of light. 

“Bastard!”

“Interesting,” he said, “Her link with her Pokemon is stronger than I thought it would be. She’s farther along than I’d expected. Now, move, or I’ll kill all of you. I’d rather not, because I do need the girl alive.”

“Why?”

“I have my reasons.” Two guards came towards me with rifles held upright, and forced me back, away from Julietta. Two more held her upright and Theoh walked towards her. Reaching into the depths of his cloak, he pulled out a sliver of metal and held it to her neck. I watched as it slithered, lengthened, and fastened itself around her, liquid and alive.

“A collar?”

“Why, yes. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that you recognized it. Dogs of a feather, after all.”

I clenched my fists, but Theoh only laughed. “I’m sorry. That was impolite. However, you’ve already made this process considerably more difficult than it should have been.”

Another pair of guards, covered by four more with guns, lifted Julietta’s body, carrying it back towards the exit.

Theoh lowered the gun, tucked it back into his cloak.

“Now,” he said. “This was fun. And it was nice to finally meet you. You killed a detachment of my people, which is very impressive, and you killed Azile, which is even more impressive. But now I will be very happy to never see you again.” He raised his other hand, and three pokeballs gleamed in the light.

“Goodbye, Rob, Niall. It was not very nice to know you.” As he walked into the tunnel, accompanied by eight guards and Julietta’s limp body, he tossed the pokeballs to the dirt. They bellowed wide, and three monstrous faces stared us down. 

***

A Tyranitar, Aggron, and Garchomp stood before us. Rob and I dropped backwards, hands already reaching for pokeballs. Steelix was the first to emerge; a good match for Tyranitar. He was followed by Sandslash, who’d take on Aggron.Rob could pick his types well. That left Garchomp to me. The three huge pokemon stared at us, unmoving, even as Sandslash and Steelix emerged from their pokeballs. I looked around. The four remaining guards ringed us, rifles in their hands. Why weren’t they shooting? Why leave us to the pokemon?

I didn’t have time to think about it. Aggron charged forward, met by a blast of earth from Sandslash. It didn’t slow the huge, armored pokemon down, and Rob and I dove aside as the two bodies crashed together in a storm of rock and steel. I rolled to my feet and saw a black-clad guard bearing down on me, and made to dive away again before he was hit in the chest by Ninetales, who grabbed his neck and dispatched him with a shake of his head. I scooped up the loose gun and turned to take aim at the other guards, only to see that Rob’s Scizor had already knocked them to the ground. A single guard remained, and I heard a pop and felt something whiz past my ear. Rolling once more, I leapt to my feet and fired blindly while Steelix and Tyranitar traded earth-shaking blows. Running still, and coughing up a lungful of dust, I saw that the guard was still alive, but was on one knee, attempting to change the rifle clip. 

I ran at him, and he looked up at me just in time to see the butt of my rifle crack his helmet open.The visor shattered, and I looked down. It wasn’t a man at all.

“Rob! They’re Jennies!”

I couldn’t make out his response. The Jenny’s eyes were wide, searching. Her mouth opened and closed in a rapid twitch, but no sound came out. I hadn’t hit her that hard. 

She snapped her helmet forward into the bridge of my nose and I fell backwards, spurting blood. The Jenny stood over me, pistol in one hand, her whole body twitching.

“The…girl,” she panted, and then turned the gun and blew her own head off.

I scrambled upright, pinching my nose to stop the bleeding. I heard a sharp yelp, and turned in time to see the Garchomp kick Ninetales across the cavern. It must have caught the fox off guard, because Ninetales isn’t one to get hit often. He wasted no time getting to his feet, but I could see that he was shaken. I yelled for him to disengage, grabbed at my belt, and felt a hole in my chest when I remembered that I no longer had Rapidash. 

My hand fell on the last ball. Dragonair emerged in a burst of light and pulsed gently, hovering in the air, her calm aura out of place amid the violence. The Garchomp looked at her, and then swung a claw out almost faster than I could see. Dragonair fell to the ground and slithered backwards, her eyes narrowed. Her Thunder attack wouldn’t do much against Garchomp, but she had another card to play. Lowering her head, a circle of blue light gathered at the tip of her horn and blazed out in a beam of frigid air. Ice beam. That would do it.

The Garchomp sidestepped the attack, and chopped at Dragonair with a blue scythe-arm. She slid away again, neither of the pokemon hurt, both circling. I looked over at Rob. Sandslash was lazy and small, but a ferocious fighter, and I watched as it landed a series of blows on Aggron’s armor. The pokemon, though massive, was weak to his ground attacks. Sandslash knew it, and pressed Aggron back towards the entrance of the cave before burrowing underground and using a dig attack that buried the huge pokemon under twenty feet of earth. 

Across the cave, Steelix had the Tyranitar wrapped in a bind, but it was grunting and whipping the huge, snake-like steel pokemon with a stream of sand it had conjured up from somewhere. Steelix roared and rammed it with an Iron Head attack, and the Tyranitar slumped backwards. It didn’t look as though it would take much more to knock it out.

Garchomp was the dangerous one. Where Aggron and Tyranitar were slow and powerful, it was nimble and vicious. I looked on in horror as it landed a dragon claw attack and left a crimson ribbon down Dragonair’s white front. She cried out in pain as it slashed at her again, her ice beam attacks missing wildly. Ninetales sprinted out of the darkness and launched himself at the Garchomp, but it saw him coming and whipped its tail around. Ninetales dodged, but barely.

“Ninetales!” I yelled, “Leave it! Take care of the Houndour!” He dipped his muzzle at me once and disappeared, cornering the dark canines with walls of flame.

When I spoke, Garchomp turned and looked at me, its eyes glowing red in the weird, flood-lit light of the cavern. Dragonair keened again, and this time its ice beam hit Garchomp in the chest.

It didn’t budge. Instead, it launched itself forward and hit Dragonair with a Dragon Rush.She was launched backwards, and landed in the dirt.

“No,” I said.

Garchomp appeared beside her, and began slashing her with its clawed hands. 

The world shuddered to a halt.

“Rob! Help!”

Scizor flashed in front of the Garchomp and struck it with a metal claw. It staggered back, its focus on the steel insect.

“No,” I said. “No, no, no.” I ran towards Dragonair, ignoring Rob’s screams and the blasts of flame. Ninetales leapt in front of me, tackled a Houndour to the ground and buried his teeth into its throat, dragging it to the side and out of my way.

I dropped to my knees in front of Dragonair as a fire blast seared through the air above us.

“No.” Deep gashes ran up and down her body, and her long tail twitched. A low, mournful wail came from her chest. She was dying.

I laid my shaking hands on her, my throat and eyes burning. “Please,” I said, “please.” Tears were running down my face, and I saw them dotting her bloody scales. Her glow was fading, the pulsing growing weaker.

“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, laying my face against her neck. 

There was an explosion of light.

I fell back and shielded my eyes as a blinding glow consumed her body. The air around me crackled and hissed, and I cried out in pain when it seared the still-burned skin on my arms. An instant of fire surrounded me, and then everything was cool and silent. My ears rang. I opened my eyes.

A kind, yellow face peered down at me. I heard a chirrup, saw a pair of wings spread out wide.

“Dragonair?”

She bent her head towards me in acknowledgement.

“Dragonite.”

I had never seen one, never heard of anyone who had seen one. It had been a thousand years since the last time one was found. But there she stood, towering above me, standing on legs that had appeared from nowhere and flexing two sets of sharp, white claws.

I heard another explosion, and the world snapped back into focus before I could take it all in.

“Niall!” Rob yelled, “Run!”

I looked up. The Garchomp was charging at us, its mouth stretched wide in a roar. I clawed my way backwards, but Dragonair – Dragonite – stepped in front of it almost faster than I could see and swung its tail around.

It caught the Garchomp in the neck, knocking it off its feet and smashing it into the ground. The earth cracked beneath it, and Garchomp roared in pain. It struggled to press itself upright, but before it could regain its feet Dragonite crunched a fist into its snout and cracked its head backwards again. The Garchomp howled, and raked its claws across Dragonite’s chest from where it lay on its back. Dragonite leapt on top of it, pinning its arms as it snapped at her face and sent ribbons of saliva flying into the air.

Dragonite’s maw began to glow, and I heard a rushing sound that seemed at first to come from very far away. The glow grew brighter, and the rush became a howl that drowned out the fighting around us.

A beam of burning silver light tore from her open mouth, slamming the Garchomp’s head into the ground. The shockwave hurled chunks of stone into the air, and I clamped my hands over my ears until, finally, mercifully, all was silent. 

The cavern felt bizarrely still after the madness of the fight. A charred hole in the ground marked the spot where the Garchomp’s head had been. Its limbs were still. Dragonite looked at me, heat shimmering around her head.

I met her eyes. “We have to save Julietta.” 

Finally, I stood. Ninetales stared at me from across the cavern. Blood dripped from his muzzle. The air was heavy. Still. Bodies were strewn across the floor, human and Pokémon. I wasn’t sure who was responsible for the carnage, but it didn’t look as though any of our Pokémon were badly injured. Scizor, Steelix, and Sandslash were all covered in gore and looked dead from fatigue, but stood strong.

Rob wiped a red streak off his face. “Why are the Jennies fighting us?”

“Theoh. He must have done something to them.”

“Why didn’t they shoot us?”

“One of them put a gun to her head in front of me.” Rob gave me an incredulous look. “No idea why. You know what she said? ‘The girl.’ Then she offed herself. I think we both know who she was talking about.”

Rob nodded. “There’s too much here that we don’t understand.”

“But I’m starting to think most of it has to do with Jules.”

I crouched down on my haunches, stared at the wreckage. “Rob. I’m going to kill him.”

“So much for never seeing us again,” Rob said. “Let’s go.”

As he said it, the whole cavern rumbled.

“The hell was that?”

“No idea,” I said, and ran towards the exit.

Ten minutes later we emerged into a desert night that felt colder than usual, and were welcomed by a massive cloud of dust settling onto sand that crackled with frost. 

I whistled. Braviary cried from above and pulled out of a dive just in time to land on the sand.

“The fuck is the ice about?”

I shrugged and coughed.

“Trucks?” asked Rob.

Braviary screeched and looked upwards.

“They’re flying,” I said.

“In what? There’s no runway here.”  
  
“No idea. But Theoh said he was headed to the lighthouse.”

“That’s three days away, even on Zapdos’ back.”

“Not for me. Braviary, take Rob to the coast. When you get there, get yourself to the lighthouse as soon as you can, however you can.I don’t think anonymity matters anymore. Just speed.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find Theoh, and I’m going to kill him. Dragonite, are you ready?”

“What? Niall, you’ll never catch up with him.”

“She can circle the world in sixteen hours. We’ll catch him.”

He paused. “Well, it’ll take me a little longer.”

“You’ll make it when you can.”

He nodded, unsmiling. “Fly safe. Braviary?” The eagle screeched at him, and Rob recalled all of his pokemon and latched onto the huge bird’s neck.

“Oh, and Niall,” he said, turning back at me, “If you get the chance before I do, rip his fucking heart out, will you?”

Braviary rose into the starlit sky, and I put my hand on Dragonite’s back.

“You ready for this?”

She growled. I had never heard Dragonair growl before. I grinned, gazed up and the stars, and climbed onto her back, clasping my hands around her neck. Then braced myself as she bent her legs and rocketed skyward, shattering the earth beneath us.


	13. Chapter 13

The world fell away at nauseating speed, but despite the wind that roared in my ears, I kept a firm grip on Dragonite’s neck and never once felt in danger of falling. We tore upwards and the dig site disappeared in moments. 

An hour later, the ocean greeted us, and we chased the moon across the waves. Dragonite’s pace was horrifying, and I wondered how long it would take Rob to catch up with us. When we crossed the ocean with Zapdos, we had been in another world; our own pokemon pulled along at a steady but slow pace by the power of the legendary bird. Dragonite screamed across the sky, and instead of the relentless beating of wings there was only the howl of the wind and the ice-cold of the air high above the distant whitecaps. The clouds swirled beneath us, following us in billowing wisps.

In two hours I saw land far below, and Dragonite angled herself downwards, punching through a layer of low-lying clouds and emerging above the ocean along a rocky coastline, a rooster-tail of water spraying up behind her as she passed.

A three-day journey had taken Dragonite all of three hours. The sun had already risen above the horizon by the time we rounded a craggy point and the lighthouse burst into view.

A huge airship hung over it, inky black in the young light, built of curved lines and low-slung menace. Theoh’s. How he had made it before Dragonite I had no idea, but as we approached at still-dizzying speed, an explosion rocked the side of the lighthouse. Black-clad figures were descending from the airship on ropes, and bursts of flame shot into the sky.

Dragonite opened her wings and slammed us to a halt above the cliffside, then dropped to the ground and loped towards the lighthouse on foot. Huge engines glowed beneath the massive aircraft, keeping it afloat. Ahead of us, a grey-clad figure stood atop the precipice.

“There he is,” I growled to Dragonite.

Theoh was staring at the building, his back to us. His black-uniformed Jennies and their Houndour were swarming all over the building, attacking the large doorway with fire and a battering ram. 

I bent low over Dragonite and she sprinted forward and barreled over another dog. Theoh whipped his head around as we came, and as Dragonite launched herself at him he twisted beneath her outstretched claws and we sailed over his head, landing ten feet away. Dragonite raked her talons into the dirt, pulling us back to face him.

“Mr. Afallon!” he cried. “You do not disappoint!”

“Theoh. Where is she?”

“The girl? Oh, she’s up there, being useful.” One hand pointed at the airship.

“Give her back.”

He laughed. “All in good time, I suppose. She has a purpose here, though.” The Jennies formed a semi-circle around him, rifles leveled at us. I released Ninetales, and the three of us stood our ground.

Theoh raised his hand. I tensed.

“Bring her down,” he said. “It’s not the reunion I was hoping for, but I suppose I can’t complain. She’s already on her way, and a final contact will seal everything.”

I opened my mouth to respond, and then I saw her: Julietta emerged from a gaping hangar door in the underbelly of the aircraft and drifted down towards us. She was locked in a cage, her hands shackled to a pillar that extended up through the roof and into the air, her neck still collared. Her descent stopped, and she hung in midair a hundred feet above us, small engines keeping her afloat.

“What have you done to her?” The airship roared, casting my words into the wind.

“You see the power of the Fuel,” Theoh said, ignoring me and gazing up at his airship. “All this technology, all of it made possible because of the work of the First Civilization.”

“Sounds like you’re more vulture than man,” I said.

Theoh laughed again. “Small-minded. I’m just good at using what’s available to me.”

“Who are you?” I said. “What do you want?”

  
“If you knew the things that I knew about this world, you’d laugh harder than I do. What I’m doing needs to be done.There’s only one way to set things right, and I’m the only person who can do it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Few do. Your friend Brad is one of them. Aren’t you, Brad?” He turned and shouted up at the lighthouse. A window appeared in the slick wall and Brad stuck his head out.

“Go back to the hole you crawled out of, Theoh.”

Theoh laughed again. His voice cracked.

“Come down, Brad!” He yelled. “Can it really be that you’ve never told your friends about what you are? About what this world is?”

From where I sat atop Dragonite, I saw Brad narrow his eyes.

“He really hasn’t told you, has he?” Theoh turned back to me. “Oh, this is too rich. He’s an abomination. He’s not even human.”

“I don’t give a shit what Brad is. I want Julietta.”

“As you say. Tell them to land,” Theoh said to one of his guards. “It’s time to get out of the sky.”

In response, the airship banked away from the cliff-side and disappeared into the forest that ringed the lighthouse.

A door banged open and Brad walked out of the door towards us. Two of the guards raised their rifles and opened fire, but Brad lifted an arm and swatted the bullets aside. With his hand.

“Stop!” Yelled Theoh, as Brad approached. “That was very impolite,” he said, and then turned to Brad. “Good of you to join us, Bradley.”

Brad reached us and stopped, his arms crossed.

“Cadney is fine,” he said to me. “She’s inside the lighthouse. How are you holding up?”

“Still alive. Who is this person?” Ninetales growled when I looked at Theoh. Dragonite kept herself deadly still.

“An old friend,” said Theoh.

“Hardly,” said Brad. “I thought you were dead.”

“I thought I was, too,” said Theoh. 

“You always were a disappointment,” Brad spat. “Now, leave.”

“Bradley, I’m afraid to say that I don’t think you have the strength to stop me anymore. Things are a bit different now, and the girl is here. She is here, and the time has come.”

“Brad,” I said, “what is he doing with Jules?”

He paused and looked away.

“He’s using her as a beacon.”

“Beacon? For what?”

“For the bird, of course!” cackled Theoh. “For the bird, who guards the Fuel!”

“Zapdos?” I said.

“Zapdos,” said Brad.

“She’s coming,” breathed Theoh.

The hair on my neck prickled, and in the sky above Theoh, Julietta began to scream.

***

“Niall!” Yelled Brad as thunder rumbled through the sky, “Take Rob and get away from here!”

“Like hell!” I yelled back.

Brad looked at me once more; pleading. And then he turned to Theoh. He raised an arm, and flame burst from his palm.

My jaw dropped.

Theoh dodged the blast, rolled to his feet, and made a throwing motion. A spear of ice appeared in midair and flew towards Brad, who knocked it away with a flaming fist.

“Get to the cage!” Yelled Brad, hurling a fireball at Theoh. I blinked.

Julietta.

Dragonite burst into the air. Before we could make it to Julietta’s prison there was a flash of light, and another dragon appeared.

The Hydreigon roared, its three heads dripping blue flame. It hovered in the air before us, and lightning cracked the sky behind it.

I looked down. Brad and Theoh were still trading blows, their bodies awash in the colors of the elements. 

I ignored them, leaned forward and spoke into Dragonite’s ear.

“Weak on special defense, but its special attack is crazy. Keep moving, and don’t let it hit you with any pulses.” She chirped in response, and the world bent again when she accelerated.

Dragonite’s top speed couldn’t be matched once she was moving, and although Hydreigon aimed Dragon Breath after Dragon Breath after us, Dragonite dove between its attacks with ease. 

“Try to hit it with a hyper beam!”

She banked as the Hydreigon let loose another stream of blue energy, and heat blinded me when she unleashed her own beam of searing light. The Hydreigon rolled away from the attack, but it sizzled across its right wing and it bellowed in pain. All three heads turned towards us and a scream burst from its three sets of jaws. Dragonite, still recovering from Hyper Beam, couldn’t dodge the ring of sound, and I clapped my hands to my ears as the attack washed over us. She flinched, and I went weightless and plummeted towards the ground.

The dragons fell away above me. Hydreigon locked Dragonite in a three-way hold, three sets of teeth snapping. She couldn’t break free.

She wasn’t going to catch me.

I rolled in the air, morbid curiosity overcoming fear. The world raced towards me, the small figures on the ground growing larger and larger and larger-

-and there was something underneath me, wings heaving, feathers where hard ground had loomed moments before.

“Braviary? How?”

He circled towards the earth and drifted to the ground behind the lighthouse where familiar faces were waiting. Rob, Skarmory, Rhydon, Steelix and Sandslash watched us alight.

“I didn’t even see you fall,” Rob said. “Braviary took off, screaming like he was going to kill something.”

I rubbed the huge bird’s neck. “Thanks.” Braviary looked at me sideways.

“How the hell did you get here?” I asked, turning to Rob.

“About that,” he said, and pointed up.

Electricity arced through the sky, and the flashes of light illuminated Julietta. I clenched my fists. 

“Dragonite!” I yelled, and the yellow figure managed to break away from the black and blue of the Hydreigon. She dove towards me, the dark dragon in pursuit.

“Niall,” said Rob, as Braviary and Skarmory leapt into the air to distract it, “She’s here.”

“Zapdos?” Dragonite landed, and I climbed atop her back once more.

“Zapdos,” he said.

I looked up. Lightning struck Julietta’s cage, and she screamed again.

“Brad said she wasn’t evil,” said Rob, “But I don’t think that thing knows what evil is.”

“He said he wasn’t evil either. Did she bring you here?”

He shook his head. “In a way. I don’t understand it.”

“Can you deal with the Houndour?”

Rhydon bellowed in response, stamping her feet. 

“Good. I’ve got a Hydreigon to kill.” Whatever he said next was drowned out in the howl of Dragonite’s ascent.

“We’re have to try something new,” I said, shouting to be heard. “It can dodge our ranged attacks, and Hyper Beam’s cool-down leaves us too exposed. Any ideas?”She raised her head in response, and her eyes began to glow with a cold blue light. 

I shivered. Ice crystals formed on my hands and stung my face as we spiraled upwards. Hundreds of feet above us, Braviary and Skarmory were pummeling the Hydreigon with flying and steel attacks. It roared, enraged, but they were having no noticable effect. 

“Braviary! Out of the way!”

The two pokemon wheeled away and we rocketed at the Hydreigon, my teeth beginning to chatter. It turned to face us, all three heads gaping wide to reveal its huge, menacing fangs. Black and purple energy collected in its jaws and it pulled its heads back to attack.

Blue light shot out from Dragonite in a circle. The air cracked and froze. Pellets of ice screamed towards the Hydreigon and buried into its purple flesh. It screamed, blood running crimson against the icy grey-blue of the sky. The Blizzard raged around us and I hid my face in Dragonite’s neck. She was silent, frigid. 

I cracked my eyes. We hung motionless in the sky, and around us roared a vortex of ice and snow. The Hydreigon was barely visible, and frost caked Dragonite’s scales. My body was numb by the time I realized that the fog from the attack was beginning to lift. It was a short reprieve. Above us, the clouds were only growing thicker, the lightning more frequent.

The Hydreigon was battered, bloody and panting, but still flying.Dragonite breathed heavily as well, but her muscles were tense beneath me.

She bunched, shoulders rolling forward and wings tucking back, and she launched herself, a golden dagger, towards the Hydreigon. It bellowed, tried to counterattack, but Dragonite spun beneath its wild Dragon Pulse and extended a single white claw.

We roared past it into the sky. I looked down, and the Hydreigon turned towards us. A red line appeared in its primary neck, and slowly, slickly, the monstrous head detached and fell to the earth. The body, limp, followed after it.

Thunder boomed. I jerked my head around. 

“Julietta!” I screamed.

And she screamed back.

She screamed and screamed and screamed, and above her the sky roiled, furious.Ozone seared my nose and eyes, and the little light that remained disappeared behind a wall of thunder and lightning. A cry rent the clouds, and in front of the blood-red sun, she appeared. She rode the electricity that burned across the sky, black and gold and orange and shimmering with dark heat.

The Bird.

Laughter reached me. I looked down, saw Brad lying on the ground unconscious, a spear of ice through his chest and Rob by his side. A group of Jennies ran out of the forest carrying a large metal crate towards Theoh, who stared up at me. When Zapdos shrieked, all heads turned skyward.

She was huge; grander than I had remembered. And she was angry. She circled above all of us, and even Dragonite bowed her head as she approached. Below us, Braviary and Skarmory descended towards Rob, who had somehow collected Brad and was sheltering behind the lighthouse as Rhydon, Sandslash and Steelix did their best to bury their attackers alive.

Zapdos screeched again, and I covered my ears. The sound tore the air around us. I slumped forward on Dragonite’s back, and she dropped half a foot before catching herself again. I looked up, my head ringing. The great bird circled high above, the glow of electricity trailing behind her. She found me with a single black-and-white eye; not the calm eye of the ageless bird that had carried us across the world, but the furious stare of a predator.

As we descended, Theoh walked to the metal crate, ripped it open, and pulled out something circular that flashed in the dim light. He hefted a metal frame onto his back, looked up at me and grinned. And then, without a care in the world, he began to walk towards Julietta. A strange pole stuck up above his head, mounted to the contraption on his back. It didn’t take long for me to realize its purpose, for above us Zapdos screamed once more and a cannon of white-hot light spat towards the earth.

It struck Theoh in the head – or at least it appeared to. He slumped to the ground, briefly, and then stood again. Julietta’s cage began to descend, and Zapdos cried a third time, circling down towards the hovering prison. Dragonite and I landed next to Rob, who was supporting Brad. Zapdos drew closer and Theoh hurled a flash of blue towards her. Zapdos banked away and the spear of ice shot past her into the sky.

Theoh spat, scratched at his neck. Something blue and fuzzy was wiggling its way out of his skin. He saw me looking, reached up a hand, and plucked it out. 

A feather.

Zapdos attacked again, and this time Theoh didn’t blink. Instead, he raised both hands and unleashed a stream of frost that tore into the Electric bird, who cried in agony. Her thunder attacks did nothing to him, and he walked toward her, his own beam of ice never ceasing. The bird gurgled and howled, but refused to leave the sky above Julietta’s cage.

I turned to Brad. “Zapdos is protecting her. Why?” 

“She is,” he said, sounding stronger than I would have guessed. “At the cost of her own destruction.”

Zapdos shuddered, falling lower and lower in the sky. Sparks flew from her body, and Theoh hammered her with relentless attacks until she slumped to the ground in front of Julietta’s cage.

The man in grey stood above her now, pummeling her with frost. Zapdos, at last, could take no more, and her head fell to the earth. Theoh tore off his strange helmet, and a blue mane ringed his neck

“Who are you?” I yelled for the hundredth time. He looked back at me and plucked another – another feather – from his skin, and stared at it with unmistakable hatred.

“What are you?”

“Articuno.” The name came to me unbidden.

He grinned wider.

“But that means...” I turned my head towards Brad, who was on his feet, leaning against Rob. Flame flickered across his face and for a moment his proud features were replaced by something alien. 

Something avian.

“Secrets, secrets,” said Theoh, sighing and turning to face us. “I did tell you he wasn’t human.”

“I don’t care what he is,” I said. It sounded childish even to my own ears. “Let Julietta go.”

“Did you never wonder why she can do the things she does?” he said, ignoring me and gesturing at Julietta’s limp form. I glanced at Brad. He stared back, saying nothing.

“It’s not that common,” Theoh continued, “to be able to control objects with your mind, or to be able to communicate telepathically.”

He turned to look at me.

“Come, now. You didn’t think that was normal human behavior, did you?”

I didn’t answer.

“It’s not,” he chuckled. “In fact, it’s not human behavior at all.”

“Get to the point.”

“So impatient!” He plucked another downy feather from his arm and flicked it into the breeze. “She’s like us.”

“Impossible.”

He laughed.

“There is so much you don’t understand. So much I don’t understand,” he added.

“She’s my friend,” I said.

“And she isn’t human. She’s something else. Something even I didn’t believe could exist. She is the fourth.” He stared at Julietta, the three of us forgotten.

“She’s...a Pokémon?”

“Oh, yes.”

“But there are only three legendary birds,” I said.

“I know that. I am one. She’s like us. But no, she’s not one of us.”

“Does that mean that Zapdos...”

“That thing?” he said, turning towards the bird, who lay broken on the ground. “Look at it!” he cried. “A dumb beast. After all these years. We were like her, once, Brad and I. And we changed. It took millennia. I can remember every single year I spent, half-alive in the depths of a volcano, singing with the world and with the waves.” His face went dark. “And slowly I watched humanity rebuild.”

“Rebuild?”

“What do you think the First Civilization was? They were you. They were, impossibly, my creators. After they cracked the world open, after they unwrote all of the rules of the world, only then could a creature like me exist.”

“Don’t listen to him, Niall,” said Brad.

Theoh ignored him. “They changed it, don’t you see? With their Fuel and with their wars, and they left the earth a ruin. They burnt it to a cinder and reduced themselves to ashes, and left the three of us to fix their mess. You are their sorry descendant, you and all your kind, and you will do it again.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you ever think to wonder why it is that you can speak with your Pokemon? Why they know what you’re saying, even though they have no language?”

“They’re...human?”

“Pokemon didn’t exist before the fall of the First Civilization. I don’t know exactly where they came from. Where I came from. But I do know that once I awoke, once I realized what had been done to the earth, once I felt its pain...Someone has to set things right. Someone has to press the reset button.”

“You are insane,” I said. 

His smile broke. “We were never meant to be! This world was never meant to be!”

“It’s too damn late,” I said. “This is the world we’ve got.”

He ignored me. “The girl is something I’ve been waiting for a very long time. A way to control that thing, and perhaps more.” He spat the word at Zapdos. “You see, even I don’t know where to find all the Fuel reserves. And I need a lot of it. Zapdos knows. It’s her job, if you like. And Julietta is like us, only psychic. Do you understand?”

“Mind control. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? But if it’s just for the Fuel, why the rest? Why the Joys and Jennies?”

“What better surveillance system could there be? What better way to find the one girl – the one little orphan girl, in all the world! – who I wanted to find? Oh, yes,” he said, before I could open my mouth. “I have been waiting a very, very long time. You thought the sisters were unbreakable. Not for me. And if you control the Sisters, you control the cities. Without them, the police forces and the pokemon centers cease to function. They’re all related, you know? Linked. With some genetic digging, unlocking their minds becomes a simple thing.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“You knew they were clones. Is it so surprising?”

“But Julietta? She can control...Zapdos?”

“Oh, she doesn’t know it. But she is powerful. She is the key to unlocking the world. And remaking it. It’s a pity that you won’t be there to see it.”

He reached his arm back. Blue light pooled in his palm, and a crackling spear of ice appeared in the air.

Frozen, I watched the spear fly towards me, watched it whistle through the sky, watched the crimson sun bleed off its tip.

Watched it shatter into a million pieces.

“No,” said Theoh.

I turned my head. 

Julietta hung in her cage, legs limp, chest heaving. But her eyes were open. And they were fixed on Theoh.

“No,” he said again. “The collar should have...”

“You are a fool,” she said, and her voice was the grinding of the ocean against the cliffs.

Lightning crashed.

Julietta’s shackles burst open, and she collapsed to the floor of the cage. 

I ran towards her; Theoh, eyes wide, motionless behind me. The door flew open, sending fragments of metal through the air. I covered my eyes as small bits of metal bounced off of me, some leaving painful streaks across my skin.

She grabbed the collar as I reached her, tore it off in a burst of purple light. She stumbled, caught herself on my arm. Stood again. 

Theoh’s lip curled. “Ah, well. That was long enough. The result will be the same.”

We stood on the cliff’s edge, the bird gasping before us, the sky red and bloody. Zapdos tried to raise her head, but slumped back to the earth and high-pitched wailing filled our ears. 

A trio of spheres whistled overhead from somewhere in the trees. 

“Thank you, Julietta, for calling her and breaking her,” said Theoh, as the spheres settled around Zapdos. 

Blue energy crackled out from their centers, locked on to her body, and she screamed again as they lifted and carried her with them. Brad fell to his knees. The massive airship roared into the sky above the lighthouse, and both Theoh and Zapdos ascended into its gaping underbelly. And then they were gone, and everything was quiet.

Julietta’s legs gave out and I caught her under her arms, hoisting her up.

“You’re okay.”

“Am I?”

“We’ve got you now. You’re fine.”

“What am I, Niall?”

“I’ve told you before, Jules. I’ll say it again. You’re my friend.”

She smiled at the ground. “A friend? Is that all?”

“I have to use it. I have to use her,” she said, before I could respond. “She’ll never forgive me.”

“You’re not making sense, Jules. You need to rest. Can you walk?”

“No. If Theoh knew how weak I am, he wouldn’t have run.”

“We’re lucky, then.”

“I need to sleep, Niall. My head is...I need rest.” She coughed.

“You’re okay. I’m here.”

She looked at me. Looked through me. And then her body failed her, and I lifted her in my arms, carried her to where Rob and Brad stood, silent.

“You knew,” I spat. 

“Easy, Niall.” Rob put an arm on my shoulder.

“Fuck you. You knew. You did this to her.”

“We need her, Niall. Theoh’s stronger than I am, now. He probably has been for many years. Julietta’s going to have to stop him.” Brad was breathing hard, the bandage on his chest soaked with blood. Cadney, who had emerged from the lighthouse after Theoh’s departure, supported him under the opposite shoulder.

“You son of a bitch. She’s my friend.”

“If you can’t see that she’s more than that, you’re an idiot.”

“And you,” I said, turning to Cadney, “You took us here.”

She nodded. “We’ve been waiting for this to happen for a long, long time.”

“We? Are you...?” said Rob, looking at Cadney.

“No. I’m like you. Human.”

The air thickened. “I don’t know what that means anymore,” I said.

Cadney looked at the ruined lighthouse; at the trees that bowed in the wind. “No one does.”

“I think,” said Rob, not looking at her, “that you owe us an explanation.”

“Not here,” said Brad, straightening. “It isn’t safe.”

“Is anywhere?” I said. He didn’t answer.

“Do we know where he’s going?”

Cadney nodded. “I have a guess. It’s a good guess, though.”

“It’s a long way from here,” said Brad. “We need to get moving if we’re going to get Julietta there in time.

“She’s not going anywhere,” I said. “She collapsed as soon as I got her in a tent and she hasn’t budged or spoken once. No one’s moving her ‘til you give us some goddamn answers.” Ninetales and Dragonite appeared next to me, eyes narrowed. Brad sighed.


	14. Chapter 14

The stars were cold, and the small fire cast no warmth. Brad and I stared at the dancing flames; Cadney and Rob on either side of us, not looking at each other.

“I’ve never heard of the Abundant Shrine,” I said.

“Few have. It was built as a place to commemorate peace between humans and Pokemon, after the Great War. It was abandoned centuries ago, its purpose forgotten. Pokemon guard it now, out of instinct, and they keep travelers away. But it is hard to find, and harder to get to.”

“You’re sure Theoh will be there?”

“Cadney thinks that’s where the Fuel is, and I believe her. It makes perverse sense, too: a symbol of peace set atop the power to destroy the world.”

“What happens if Theoh gets what he wants?”

“We all die,” said Julietta, appearing by the fire, “and the world ends.”

“Jules? When did you wake up?”

“Not that long ago. Heard you talking.”

She stood just outside the flames, half-lit, hugging herself loosely. I offered here a spot on the log, but she didn’t notice.

“You feeling alright?”

“He’s on his way, Brad. He has Zapdos with him, and she’s broken, just like he said. They’re headed to the Shrine. To the Fuel.”

“Cadney was right.”

“I don’t know what he needs to unlock it. And I don’t know if I can stop him.”

“You need rest, Jules,” I said. 

“There’s no more time. I’m sorry, Niall. I have to go.”

Her eyes were wide, shining in firelight once more, and I thought of champagne and sushi. But we had left the luxuries of candlelit dinners and comfortable stargazing at the bottom of the sea, alongside thousands of dead. There would be thousands more, if Theoh had his way. 

I put my hands on my knees, pushed myself up, stretched my arms over my head.

“Fine. I’m coming with you.”

“Not this time.”

“You think I’m going to let you leave now? After all of this?”

“I want you to stay away from me. I want you to live.”

“Brad, how long will it take us to get there?”

“Niall, I’m serious.”

“I am too, Jules. You’re not going without me, and that’s final.”

“Or me,” said Rob, standing up. “But I’m warning you: I am going to need a long vacation when we’re done.”

“You two are not coming!”

“Try to stop us.” Rob crossed his arms.

“Brad, Dragonite can get me there quickly. Just me, though.”

Brad nodded at me. “Cadney?”

“Not leaving me behind.”

“So,” I said, “How do we get there?”

Julietta rubbed her head with her hands, and then looked up. “I take us.” 

“You?”

“Teleport.”

“Teleport?”

“She won’t be able to take us directly to the Shrine,” said Brad, not meeting Julietta’s eyes, “but she can get us close.”

“Why’s that?” Rob asked.

“Old rules. None of us can move directly there.”

“Of course,” I said, and rolled my eyes.

“We’ll be several hours away, and we’ll have to walk from there. Getting to the Shrine by air is tricky. The good news is that Theoh has to play by the same rules.”

“He’s got a hell of a head start,” said Rob.

“But he flew,” said Brad, “and he has to transport Zapdos.”

“His airship is fast,” I said. “He beat Dragonite and me to the lighthouse.”

“That’s because he was the one transporting it, the same way Zapdos pulled you. It’s different now that he has her in tow. Our elements weren’t exactly made to get along.”

“So we’ve got a chance.” 

Brad nodded.

“You know where we’re headed?” Julietta looked back at me. Her lip quivered, and she shook her head. “Zapdos does, though, so I do. Are we ready now?”

No one said anything. 

“Good. I’ve never done this before, so everyone hold on.”

We stood in a circle with our hands linked, Julietta in between Rob and me. I looked at her. She looked away. Purple light envelope us and the world folded and disappeared.

***

“You okay?”

Rob answered me by emptying the contents of his stomach into a bush. 

“No.” 

“You’re fine. C’mon, get up.”

“I feel like I just went through a pasta machine.”

“He’ll be fine,” said Brad. “In a minute or two.”

“Jules, you okay? Jules?”

Julietta set a hand and knee down. “I need a minute,” she said. I bent down next to her and did my best to keep my voice level.

“You good?”

“I’m good. Really. Tired, though. Need to rest before we start moving.”

“We’re a couple of hours from the Shrine,” said Cadney. 

“Theoh?” I asked.

“Not here yet,” said Brad, looking into the North. “We have time.”

We pitched a silent camp.Julietta fell asleep without another word. Rob and Cadney retreated separately. I sat down across the fire from Brad.

“Why has Zapdos stayed the same?”

“I can’t say for certain. We all have choices, though. New paths to explore. New lives. She is the Guardian, and perhaps she is happy.”

“And you weren’t?”

“I was always restless. Almost as restless as Theoh. It’s in his nature, as it’s in mine.”

“And so you changed?”

“And so we changed, in fire and ice. Burned away, and were reborn. Ages ago. Lifetimes ago. Too many.”

“And now Julietta is here. Cadney said that you’d been waiting for her.”

“For someone who can control Zapdos, who guards the Fuel, where Theoh is headed at this very moment. We were never certain that she, or rather, someone like her, would appear. We knew that Theoh was mad, that I was growing weak.”

“Why is that?”

“There are many reasons. He grows stronger as he becomes more human. He hates this about himself, but he is attached to immortality, just as he is attached to his freedom. But none of us are truly immortal. We return to the earth and in turn we are reborn from it, but we are never quite the same. Perhaps his madness drives him. Perhaps he only acts out of fear. Perhaps he truly believes that what he seeks to do is right. He has had millennia to dwell upon it.”

Brad paused. It sounded surreal, to hear him speak of legends so calmly.

“I have gone the other direction. It has been many years since I changed, and I am losing my grasp on humanity. I am weaker, ready for rest. Ready for the flames, perhaps. He has grown, and I have diminished. And Julietta, she is the strongest of us.”

“Theoh said she was like but unlike you.”

“We,” and he faltered, “The...Birds, we are elemental, have never been otherwise. We have kept a balance, as we were built to do – or at least, we have tried. And make no mistake - we were built, just as the Joys and the Jennies were built, although the extend of humanity’s hand in our creation has always been hazy. Julietta is a fourth. Not an element, but something outside our small pattern.” He looked at me, looked away, looked to the stars. 

“We – I – think she is the First.”

“The First?”

“The answer to the riddle. The link. The first of us.”

“The first...pokemon?”

“Once, yes. Or all of them - genetically. Was. Just as Theoh and I have changed, she has changed. Many times over, more than our single metamorphosis. She is more human than we, who are bound by repetition. She is a blank slate.”

“Okay, I know Jules is special, but that seems a little far-fetched, even considering, you know” I looked at him, “Um.”

He gave me a tired smile. “Did she ever mention her childhood?”

“She said she didn’t remember much. She was an orphan. Abandoned. Had an...unhappy life in the gyms.”

“Abandoned. What would you do if the pokemon egg you had found hatched, and inside it was a human?”

The flames chuckled at my silence.

“Julietta is, in many ways, a shell. Skin to shed, perhaps.”

“And what will she become?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how or why or if she was created, or if she - or if what she was at first - willed itself into existence. There is much we will never know about the First Civilization, and about what they did to the world.” His head was dark behind the flames. “But as to what she will become - perhaps it is up to her. But perhaps not to her alone - she has a choice to make, and a purpose to weigh against it.”

He stood. “Get some rest. Theoh is on his way with an army and with Zapdos. I have some idea of what he intends to do, and none at all of how he seeks to do it. The best that we can do is try to stop him. Julietta may well need your strength before this is over.” He left me there, alone with Ninetales, and walked to his tent. I laid my hand on the fox’s head, scratched him behind an ear.

“Been a long week, huh?” He opened an eye and looked at me.

The half-full moon glared down at us. Ninetales yawned, stood, and stretched. I laid my head on the dirt. 

“What do you think?

Ninetales sat back on his haunches, raised his head and howled. The sound echoed through the trees around us, wound its way towards the stars. From their perch, the high keening of Braviary and Skarmory joined his lament. There had been no chance to mourn Rapidash, or even to think of her.Now she lay on the bottom of the sea, surrounded by the bodies of those we had failed to protect. The innocents that Theoh had murdered. It seemed a promise of things to come.

A deep baying joined Ninetales’ howl. I raised my head and looked over. Houndoom stood next to us, head thrown back, eyes a soft orange in the night. I hadn’t seen him in a long time. Not since Theoh had collared Julietta.

“You heard everything, huh?”

She sat down next to me, nodded, then looked at the pokemon. “They felt everything I did, when Theoh had me. I’m amazed they survived it.”

“They’re strong. Like you.”

She didn’t answer. Even Gengar stared at the stars, and Chandelure burned as I had never seen her. And then Dragonite filled the sky with song; gentle mourning that filled the hollows between the boughs. Julietta leaned her head on my shoulder, like she had done so many times before. I glanced down at her. 

“Jules,” I said.

“I don’t want anything,” she cut in. “Don’t need anything. I guess my timing was bad. It just seemed like, well, we’re probably going to die anyway.” She raised her head.

“No one’s gonna die,” I said.

“People already have. I’ve killed people. You’ve killed people. Aurea is dead. Rapidash is dead. You’ve almost died twice, and even Rob’s come close, that idiot.”

“We already decided that this was more important. That we had to stop Theoh.”

Julietta didn’t answer immediately, and when she did, she sounded sad. “What if he’s right?”

“Right?”

“I have two friends, Niall. Just two. The rest of humanity hasn’t done a whole lot for me. Theoh has broken the sisters. but they were broken long before he did. We might already be beyond saving. Is it worth it? Are the rest of them worth it?”

“Don’t say that. It must be. As long as we’re alive...” I faltered.

“We,” she said. “Is there a we?”

A hard kernel twinged in my chest; fear buried beneath anger and hopelessness. I regretted my words as soon as I spoke them: “Of course there’s a ‘We.’ The three of us. We’ve always been together. It’ll always be the same.”

Julietta lifted her head off my shoulder.“The same? Always is a long time, Niall. Longer than the two years we’ve known each other.”

“Call it a prediction, then. Call it a promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” The Pokemon were quiet. 

I looked away.“What happens tomorrow?”

“Go to sleep, Niall. We’ll talk in the morning.” She stood and walked back to her tent without looking back, and left her pokemon. Ninetales and Houndoom curled up by the dying fire, and the ghosts hung in the shadows. Espeon followed Julietta to her tent, and Alakazam leaned back against a tree next to Dragonite’s impressive bulk. Above them, Braviary and Skarmory ruffled their feathers and settled in to sleep. I lay back again, not bothering to move the small stones that dug into my shoulders.

It’ll always be the same. 

I closed my eyes.

***

“Niall! Wake up!”

Rob shook me hard enough to bang my head into the dirt.

“Ow! Rob, the shoulder! What? What is it?”

“Jules is gone.”

I scrambled to my feet. Ninetales and Houndoom and all the other pokemon, including Julietta’s, were sleeping. The sun was high.

“Why didn’t the pokemon wake us?”

“She must have done something,” said Brad, appearing from a tent. “We should have left hours ago.”

“Did she leave by herself? What the hell was she thinking?”

“She was thinking about us. God, I’m an idiot. Last night, she...I should have told her.”

“Told her what?”

“Nothing. We have to catch up.”

“We’re two hours out,” said Cadney. 

“Theoh?” Rob asked. Brad closed his eyes, then looked at us.

“He’s almost there. We won’t beat him.”

“We cut north once we hit Route 14,” said Cadney. “Then we’ll have to climb.”

We woke the pokemon. Houndoom was furious, pacing back and forth and spitting small bursts of flame every few seconds while Ninetales did his best to calm him. Alakazam, Gengar, and Chandelure seemed unsurprised but depressed. Espeon we found curled up in Julietta’s tent. When I woke her, she opened one large eye and stared at me. She knew, and she had let Julietta go.

We didn’t bother to pack the tents. Just took to the trail, cutting North through the forest towards where Cadney told us Route 14 lay. We reached it in half an hour, all of us – human and pokemon – walking in silence. 

Cadney pointed at the mountains that burst over the trees. “There. Another two miles, then cut into the forest again. That’ll take us to the first waterfall.” She and Brad continued down the road.

I stopped, turned to the pokemon.

“We on the same page, here? This is choice for each of you to make. I’ve asked a lot of the three of you for a long time, now. Julietta’s done the same. I’m about to ask more. You want to stay out of this, I won’t stop you, ‘cause it doesn’t sound like anyone’s coming back. We’ve already lost one friend, and I don’t want to lose any more. But Julietta’s a friend, too, and I intend to keep her from doing anything stupid. More importantly, I intend to get even.”

Nintales, Houndoom, Dragonite, and Braviary stood proud in front of me. Ninetales barked once, and a puff of flame charred the dirt. Dragonite’s fierce chirrup was still jarring after years of Dragonair’s gentle song. The psychic pokemon, Gengar included, were silent, focused. Braviary simply fixed me with a single bright eye and took to the skies. I grinned.

“Don’t think they needed that, O Fearless Leader,” said Rob.

“Maybe I did.”

“Maybe so.”

“And you?”

He laughed. “Yeah, I probably needed it. But I’m not going anywhere. I’ve known her as long as you have, and I guess I like the world just fine. Like it enough that I don’t want to blow it up, at least.”

I laughed too. “Scared?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Terrified.”

“Probably smart.”

The plateau rose in the distance, and wind howled through our thin clothes as we trekked toward it. The air felt thick, and did its best to turn us back. 

“Theoh’ll have troops with him,” Brad called over his shoulder.

“We’ll take care of those,” Rob muttered.

“What need does he have for troops now?” I asked. “He’s not going to fight Julietta, is he?”

Brad didn’t respond. Anger flared in my chest, and Ninetales and I walked up next to him, leaving Rob and Cadney behind us. 

“So?” I said, keeping my voice low. “Happy? I don’t suppose you knew she was leaving.”

He kept walking, didn’t bother to look at me. “It had to happen. To stop Theoh. What choice did we have?”

“You chose for her, Brad. Told her nothing. You even warned me not to ‘lose’ her, before we left the lighthouse. You knew what would happen to her.”

“And? There’s always danger, Niall. There are always risks. I told you that as well.”

“And that speech about choice? About saving what matters? You weren’t talking about me at all, were you? You were talking about yourself. Justifying what you’d done. Look at me, dammit. You sacrificed my best friend without telling her a word, you fucking coward.” 

I grabbed his shoulder, spun him around. Light burned in his eyes and he stopped, heat shimmering around him. 

“You think these are games, Niall?This is the fate of humanity. The fate of pokemon. The fate of the world. Is the life of one girl worth all of that? Yes, it damn well is.” He narrowed his eyes. “We do what we have to do to survive. Are you any better? Any less of a coward than I am?”

I bristled. “I won’t let her die for you, Brad. Not for anyone.”

“Oh? What will you do when we get to the Shrine? Tell Theoh to go away? Kiss and make up? There’s nothing special about you, Niall. Would you choose Julietta’s happiness – your own happiness – over all the life on this earth? She has a purpose, as I do. As we all do.”

“Yeah. I would. Don’t give me that destiny bullshit. I choose my purpose, just as she’ll choose hers. I choose Julietta.”

He paused. The fire in him died.

“And you would choose that still, knowing what she is, knowing that she will never die? Knowing that you will fade to dust at her feet?”

“My choices are my own, Moltres,” I said. The name burned on my tongue, and Brad smiled. “I might be an idiot, but my choices are my own.”

“That they are, and that they will ever be. But just as you say, Julietta is not without free will, even bound as she is by memetic destiny. I cannot say what she will do – what she will be – when you see her again.”

“She’ll be my friend.”

“And I wonder if that will be enough,” said Brad, and walked away from me. 

I stared after him. Ninetales nuzzled my leg and I scratched his head.

“I’m fine,” I told him. “Just exhausted.”

“There are things he sees differently,” said Cadney, appearing next to me. “He’s been around for...a while.”

“And you trust him?”

“Our interests are the same.”

“That’s not a yes.” The anger left me in a rush. I looked up at the mountains that climbed into the sky before us, my chest hollow.

“C’mon,” said Rob. “Not that much further now, and –and what the hell is that?!”

We all covered our heads as a jet screamed low overhead and let something fall. A brown-and-blue sphere whistled towards us, hammered into the earth. It shimmered with heat. The forest watched, silent.

The shape uncurled, its geometric shell stretching back, cannons reaching skyward; opened its arms and released a familiar figure.

“Yo,” said Seth, patting one of Blastoise's massive paws, “You guys suck at keeping appointments.”


	15. Chapter 15

“And HARA?”

Seth popped a mint into his mouth. “I guess you were right. We’re currently dealing with an uprising of Jennies. Worldwide. Pretty much chaos in every city - not a good scene. You’re lucky you’re off the grid. I had to call in a lot of favors just to make it here. I’m it, sorry to say. No backup.”

“That was quite an entrance,” I said.

“Yeah, never done that before. Harrowing.”

“Points for style,” said Rob.

“Cheers. Who’s that?”

“That’s Moltres.”

Seth’s face went blank. 

“Long story. Call him Brad.”

Seth nodded. “And her?”

“Professor Cadney,” said Professor Cadney. 

“Charmed.” Seth flashed his teeth at her.

“Spoken for,” she said. Rob shot her a glance.

“Right. Also, is that a Dragonite?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. Okay. Where’s Julietta?”

“Abundant shrine,” I said. “Trying to stop Articuno, who’s a dude named Theoh, from blowing up the planet. I think.”

“How noble. Articuno, huh? We have a plan?”

“Kill the bad guy. Save Julietta. Save the world.”

“What are the chances we’ll be able to do that?”

“None whatsoever. Any last words?”

He cracked the mint, chewed.

“Nah. Those are for heroes. Let’s get this over with.”

“He’s here,” said Brad. The four of us looked at him.

“Who is?” said Seth.

“The bad guy,” I said. “How much time do we have?”

“Not much. We’re going to have to hurry. Into the woods, now.” 

I moved to follow him, but Ninetales yipped and tugged my shirt.

“Boss!” 

I turned, saw a childish, grinning face and a baseball bat, flanked by a Flareon.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Rob.

“Hey, Boss! I’m here to help.”

“Haji? How did you even get here? Where’s the gang?”

“We got ears to hear, Boss. I’ve been heading this way since we dropped you off. We did some snooping around the Sisters after you left. They’re acting a little weird, huh? Kinda crazy? Really crazy, now. The rest of the Lads are helping to keep things safe in the towns. Two weeks ago we found a broken Jenny, just like you said, saying something about the Abundant Shrine, something else about a girl. I made a guess. That’s not a name that comes up regularly. Where’s Sis?”

“Hard to explain. She probably wouldn’t want you here, though.”

“And you?”

“You’re a smart kid. You want to help, I won’t stop you. You’ll probably die, though.”

His grin widened. “Been dying since the day I was born, Boss.”

I nodded. “I know the feeling.”

“Another friend?” said Seth.

“A thief and a scoundrel,” said Rob.

“I’ll take it.” Haji turned the grin at him. “Stick with me, kid. You’ll be okay.”

“Right,” I said. “Follow the angry-looking guy in black.”

We jogged through the trees, and the ground rose gently under our feet. It didn’t take long before we heard the sound of rushing water, and we burst into a clearing to see a large waterfall spilling down a sheer mountainside that had appeared, seemingly, from nowhere.

“How do we climb that?” said Haji.

“We don’t,” said Brad. “If you want to get to the shrine, a pokemon has to help you. Part of the deal.”

“Theoh’s exempt?” I asked.

“All three of us are.”

“Blastoise can take us up it,” said Seth.

“So can Dragonite,” I said. 

“Dragonite. And Moltres. And Articuno.” Seth made a face. “And a Kabutops. Anything else I should be ready for?”

“Uh,” I said, “Probably. Zapdos, too, and, um.”

“Um?”

“Remember how I said things were complicated? Well, Julietta might be reincarnated form of the original genetic template of all pokemon.”

“Sis is?” Haji and Flareon looked at each other.

“Something like that,” Cadney said. 

“So, the whole, you know, mind powers thing,” said Seth.

“Right,” I said.

“Let’s go,” said Brad, over the roar of the falls.

Blastoise shuttled the humans and the pokemon up the waterfall in turns, and I flew up with Dragonite. Brad was already at the top, though I hadn’t seen how he got there. Everyone was wet by the time they reached the top, and it wasn’t particularly warm in the foothills.

“This just keeps getting better,” said Seth, shaking his wet hair.

“You’re welcome to leave,” said Rob.

“What, and miss the fun?” A beautiful meadow greeted us, and the river wound its way up the mountainside. “And the scenery?”

“A little water is nothing for us,” said Haji. Flareon shivered but puffed his chest out.

“Kid, just wait until you’re my age,” said Seth. 

“Up the river to the next waterfall,” said Brad.“We have to hurry.”

We did as he said, running along the riverbank to the next obstacle, where the high cliff-side and furious water was visible. Dragonite carried me on her back, and Brad loped alongside us. Braviary and Skarmory were high above, and as we approached the waterfall Braviary let out a cry.

“That means company,” I said.

“Theoh,” said Brad. Clouds were gathering over the top of the plateau, drawn from nowhere. 

We climbed the second waterfall in the same way as the first. I kept an ear out for Braviary’s warnings, but there was no movement as we regrouped at the top of the cliff.

“The air feels funny,” said Haji, with a look on his face that seemed older than his years.

“You’re right,” said Rob. “Heavy. Hard to breathe. Like a storm’s coming.”

“We good?” I asked. Everyone nodded, faces serious. The sky grew darker as we walked towards the forest from the river. “Brad, how much further?”

“Down another waterfall, and then we’ve made it.”

Braviary and Skarmory broke the still air, landing in front of us. Skarmory screeched.

“Out of time,” said Rob. “Someone’s coming.”

There was no time to take cover. A huge troop of armored Jennies burst out of the trees, accompanied by innumerable Houndour, Houndoom, and what looked like several squads of Bisharp. The humans carried rifles. Rob’s Pokemon appeared from his belt, forming a line in front of us while Alakazam and Espeon set up Barriers and Light Screens. Gunfire rang, and no one flinched when the bullets deflected off the shields.

“We’ll have to break through,” I said.

“Leave this to us,” said Rob, staring at the enemy lines. “You go on ahead. You’re fast enough.”

I looked at him.

“Get moving. Haji, Seth, with me. Gengar, Chandelure; Ghost attacks. They’re all Dark. Haji, keep Flareon back and hit them with a smog cloud. If you can land a few Fire Spins, so much the better. Stay safe. Understood?”

“Understood.” Haji’s eyes narrowed, and Flareon bristled at the howling of the Houndoom.

“Seth, you have anything other than that overgrown tortoise?”

“Plenty of water. We’ll take care of the flames.”

Poliwrath and Starmie appeared. I nodded once at Poliwrath, and he bowed back.

“Right. Blastoise, Starmie, keep them ranged with your cannons. Poliwrath, Scizor and Sandslash will worry about hand-to-hand. Rhydon, Earthquakes when it’s clear. Steelix, underground, now.”

“Rob-”

“Move it, Niall, before the barriers fail. You’ve got somewhere to be.”

“I’ll stay,” said Cadney, stepping up beside Rob. He raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Tactics,” she said.

“Fine. Let’s go to war, people.” Rhydon bellowed, raised a massive foot and shook the earth beneath us. 

“Ninetales? Braviary?” I held out their pokeballs and Ninetales returned in a flash. Braviary fixed Skarmory with his proud eyes, and deigned to joined us as well. I hopped up onto Dragonite’s back.

“Niall!” Rob looked up at me. “We’ll see you when this is over.”

I tried to smile. “When it’s over.”

Brad took off across the meadow. Dragonite sprinted behind him, ignoring the howls and gunfire of Theoh’s troops. She leapt into the air and razed a pack of Houndoom with a hyper beam as we passed, leaving charred earth and flesh in her wake.

“Stay low,” I told her as we rose into the air. “We don’t know what’s coming.” She hung over the trees, pacing Brad’s inhuman speed. We reached the waterfall in seconds and Brad leaped off it, landing in a dead sprint. Dragonite dove and followed him, kicking up mist. The trees were larger now, and ahead of us a copse of giants rose overhead. Brad slowed and we landed next to him before the sylvan gateway. 

“This is it,” he said. “We have to go through on foot.” I dismounted and recalled my pokemon. Brad looked at me, looked away.

“Stay calm,” he said, and I followed him through the portal.

***

Earthen mounds covered the ground, and the air smelled wet, fertile.Even the sky seemed lighter inside the shrine, despite the gathering clouds. Trees surrounded the small clearing, and the ground was pockmarked with clear ponds and terraced levels that rose up to a flat peak beneath the feet of the man in grey. Behind him, on the highest mound, stood a single, massive pine.

The shrine was old, built of wood that had long since lost any color it may have once had. At its base was a massive, circular stone, pure white except for a single shallow depression in the center.

Theoh stood atop the plateau in front of the shrine, and a light breeze ruffled the feathers that ringed his neck.

“Where is the girl, Theoh?” Brad sounded tired. Theoh laughed. 

“Good to see you, brother. I wondered if we’d be together at the end.”

“I can’t imagine greater shame.”

“Who can say where the girl is now? She was invited, as were you - this human, however, was not.”

Brad’s lip curled, and he stepped in front of me. “Stay back, Niall. There is nothing you or your pokemon can do here. Find Julietta. She is here somewhere.” I nodded and scanned the verdant clearing. I saw nothing save the rustle of the long grass.

Theoh raised his hands, turned to the clouds. Zapdos, bound, ignoble, lay behind him.

“There is no shame in fulfilling your purpose, Brother.”

“And is there none in ignoring it utterly? In turning your back on those you swore to protect?” 

“Purpose. What is your purpose, Brad? What was it that that they told you, millennia ago, when they forced you into this world? Nothing. They were dead. Only their genetic legacy remained. Keep the peace. Keep the balance. Watch as it is destroyed. Only a fool would trust in a maker they cannot see.”

“We did well enough.”

“The world is corrupt. The humans built the sisters to keep themselves in check, and thought it would solve all their problems. No. Humans are the problem. A blight. The first civilization nearly brought the world to ruin, before they annihilated themselves.”

“And we preserved the balance so that they could return.”

“Return to make the same mistakes again. To threaten the planet. To undo everything we did.”

“No. The world doesn’t suffer as it used to. They live with the land, now.”

“Do they? At the cost of their own, then. At the cost of the creatures they created. Already, things are changing.The cities are growing larger. They are spreading, fighting, killing. They do it for sport. They have begun to uncover the ruins of their ancestors, begun to unravel the power that is hidden there. It won’t be long before their petty squabbles reach the scale they once did. Before the Fuel is reignited.”

“I have no love for the humans, but their weapons are no more kind to the earth than they are to the living. Have you forgotten how long it took for the land to heal, even after we were born? For the burn to fade?”

“Oh? And if there were another way to reset the cycle, you would take it?”

“You can’t control the Fuel, Theoh. You don’t even know how it works.”

“Don’t I? There is a part of me, Bradley, that wishes it didn’t have to end this way. But it’s a small part, easily ignored. It’s time to finish things. Our part is done.”

Theoh came at him with a dagger of ice in each hand, arms whirling, weapons flashing blue and silver faster than I could see. Brad held him back with flaming fists, but Theoh was the quicker one. 

I had no time to think, no time to react. Theoh was faster than Brad, deadlier; driven by an insane fury.

Thin red lines appeared on Brad’s arms and face. His breathing grew louder, more labored. Still Theoh came, unceasing, and drove Brad back against the shrine. Theoh kicked a knee out, slammed a fist into Brad’s chest, knocked him against the wood. He grabbed Brad by the hair, and a new dagger appeared, sharp and blue in the strange light. Theoh slashed across Brad’s chest, and blood flew into the air. He smashed the crimson ice down against the massive stone at the base of the shrine, and blood pooled in the depression.

Theoh yelled into the sky.

“Here she is, girl! The bird is waiting for you. What will you do?” He knelt, cut Zapdos as he had cut Brad, flung the blood onto the stone. It flashed gold and red, glowing the way the Fuel had glowed when Julietta first touched it, ages ago.

Theoh tossed Brad’s body away. He didn’t rise. I ran to his side, turned him over on his back. He groaned and blinked. Blood dripped from innumerable wounds, and a wide ribbon of flesh gaped open across his chest. 

Behind us, Julietta crackled out of thin air. Her face was drawn, tired, but her eyes continued to glow purple even as the signs of her arrival faded.

“Theoh.”

“I expected you to arrive earlier, girl. Were you scared to come, perhaps?”

Julietta frowned and ignored him. Her eyes flashed over Brad and me, found Theoh again.

“We are all cowards, Theoh - even you. You should know it well enough by now.”

He laughed again, wiped his nose with the back of a hand. “Of course, of course. We depend on them, don’t we? As much as we wish it weren’t true. After all, we wouldn’t exist were it not for their insanity. A sorry consequence, but unavoidable. We must all live with consequences.”

“Enough, Theoh. It will be enough work to rebuild the damage the Sisters have done. If I have to kill you, I will.”

“You don’t have to do this alone, Jules.”

At last, she looked at me, small and dirty, kneeling on the ground next to the body of a broken legend. “I wish that were true, Niall. You made your choice. I made mine. He wants to use the fuel to end the world, but if I use it first, I can stop him. I can save you.”

“Use it?”

“I can stop you, Theoh. You know that, don’t you?”

Theoh’s face broke into a smile. “We shall see. Once it is open, we shall see.”

“Open?”

“I thought you would know, girl. You can smell the Fuel, can’t you? I can. It calls to you, as it does to me. A remnant of our creation, far below us both, just waiting to be unleashed.”

Julietta frowned.

He raised his own hand, cut into it without wincing.

“The blood of the Three,” said Theoh, as a single crimson drop fell onto the keystone. “Fitting, don’t you think?” 


	16. Chapter 16

Zapdos wailed. Fire, ice, and lightning enveloped the shrine. It buckled, crumpled in on itself. The earth shook, and one of the idyllic pools was drained in an instant when the ground cracked open beneath it. I steadied myself and the layers of earth peeled away, revealing a gleaming, brilliant structure beneath the turf. Doors – and they were doors – slid open after countless years spent forgotten, buried beneath the world.

Julietta stared down into it, her eyes wild. The wind howled.

“The Fuel. The power to change everything.” Theoh looked at her, ignoring us. 

Brad raised his head, coughed, pulled himself along the ground. The leg that Theoh had kicked bent outward at the knee. “It’s no use, Theoh. You can’t activate it. You have no trigger. It’s inert. Dead. Useless. Even we don’t know how they used it as a weapon.”

“You never understood, Brad.”

Julietta bent over the lip. Light exploded from within, poured out of the opening and into her body. She shone brighter and brighter, brighter than the sun, until I was forced to look away.

“The Fuel is not a weapon. It is Fuel. But the things it powers…the thing it powers…”

Julietta fell to the ground. I left Brad, ran to her, tried to reach her. She held up a palm. Her voice was strained, her face a mask of agony.

“Stay away. Leave, Niall. It’s too late for me.”

“Julietta! No!”

Her eyes went black, and an invisible shockwave knocked me back.

She took a step towards the burning keystone, and then another. Zapdos raised her head; defiant, hopeful. Julietta turned, looked at me. One corner of her lip twitched.

She knelt, plunged her hand into the chest of the dying god, pulled out something hot and gold and wrapped in dripping, blinding light. She raised it to her mouth and the world screamed.

“The blood of the three,” said Theoh. “The power of the fuel. She is awake.”

“No,” said Brad. He struggled upright in my arms.

Julietta’s body, purple and gold, bent backward. Six wings, iridescent gold and purple, flashed into existence behind her. Her arms spread wide and she rose into the sky. Purple lightning covered the sky. Wind howled, bending the trees and forcing us to our knees.

“Brad!” I yelled. “What is happening?!”

His eyes were wide.

“I am a fool. She is the first, and the last. She is the template. She is the weapon. The first weapon.”

“He knew,” I said. “And you did just as he hoped.”

“I thought that they would help each other. That connecting them would make them stronger. That you and she would…that without a trigger, the fuel was nothing. The fuel is the trigger.”

I paled. “Ever since she rode the bird, she’s been slipping away. She told us that things were getting easier for her. That she was acting without thinking. Theoh didn’t need to control Zapdos. He needed Julietta to change. Zapdos was only a catalyst.”

“No. Zapdos was supposed to protect her, should have saved her. Helped her defeat Theoh.Helped her join us, helped us restore the balance! Not...this.”

“What the hell did she do?!”

“Julietta took her in. Returned that raw material to herself. Zapdos came from her - she just reclaimed what was hers.”

“Why?”

“To preserve what we – Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres – couldn’t. In order to do what she was built to do.”

“Built?”

The vortex roared above us, Julietta silhouetted in its center.

“She is stronger now, with one of the three inside of her. Closer to completion. The balance is gone. She is our only hope.” He pushed me away, struggled to his feet.

“Brad? What happens at ‘completion?’”

“The cycle is ending,” he said. 

“What are you talking about?”

“She no longer has any use for us. The world no longer has any use for us. We were only the keys to open the source of her power. This…this is our purpose. Do you understand, Niall? We have been fighting it for so long. Just to end things here, again, as the cycle closes.”

“What are you doing?”

“She has the power to give life, just as she can take it,” Brad said. “Remember that.”

He stood, taller now.“I am tired, Niall. I have lived too long, and the cycle is over. It’s time for me to rest. Perhaps, someday, we will meet again.”

Red wings of flame burst from his shoulders and a hot wind blew me backwards. Brad rose, burning, into the sky, to where Julietta awaited him. She bent down. Her lips met his. Fire roared, and the thing that Julietta had become grinned.

“Thank you,” he whispered. His words carried over the howl of the vortex, and he fell away, bursting into soft red flakes that swirled up into the sky. Fire blossomed around Julietta, wreathed her in a halo that flashed purple and red and gold. She raised her head and looked at me.

For a moment I saw Julietta. And then Theoh appeared. 

“Complete us!” he yelled from the ground. Her eyes left mine and found Theoh far beneath her.

I pulled myself up and managed a sprint. Half-stumbling, I tackled him. He writhed beneath me and I pummeled him with my fists. He grabbed my shoulder, threw me off. I landed five feet away and looked up to see his boot hit me in the chest. Ribs cracked, and I tumbled another ten feet, struggling to breathe. Theoh appeared, eyes wild, blue ruff framing his face. I pushed myself to my feet and gasped for air. The pokemon. I fumbled with their balls, finally finding the release.

“Human,” he sneered at me.

A blast of light knocked him off his feet and off one of the terraces. Dragonite landed on all fours next to me, her mouth glowing. 

I looked up. Julietta had turned her attention skywards once more. “And you? Where are your wings? Don’t tell me you don’t have them anymore.”

“You know nothing. You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed.”

“What, your god-hood? Look at you now. Neither human nor pokemon. Just a creature, driven mad by its own place in the world.You’re weak, Theoh. Weaker than any of us.” My heart pounded, but somewhere above me Julietta was preparing to end the world. If infuriating a legendary bird distracted him, so be it. 

Theoh’s face cracked, and again the icy, beaked visage of myth flashed before my eyes. Flashed - and that was all.

“You will not stop me!” he yelled, picking himself up. Dragonite bounded towards him and swung her tail around, but he grabbed it and tossed her across the clearing, where she crashed through one of the small pines that bent over in the gale that blew from everywhere. He walked toward me and I raised my fists.

I swung, but I was never quick enough. Even a broken god is still a god. There was a flash of blue, and I gasped as a sliver of ice slipped into my side beneath the shattered bones.

“Trash,” he growled at me, our faces locked together. I could do nothing as he shoved the knife further into me. He pulled it out, stabbed again. Ninetales slammed into him, knocked him onto his back. Theoh kicked him over his head with both feet. I bent double, hands on my side. Fell to one knee. Dragonite was there again, her hyper beam recharged, but Theoh sprang to his feet and dodged the blast of energy,coming after me again.

Ninetales grabbed a foot and Theoh tried to shake him off, but the fox held on. Dragonite leapt over my shoulder and dug her fangs into Theoh’s shoulder, shaking him to the ground. His fist glowed blue and an Ice Punch knocked her away, sending the two pokemon tumbling to the ground. Ninetales was on his feet again, leaping and snarling. Theoh aimed a kick at him but it sailed wide. Ninetales landed, spun around, and enveloped Theoh with a Flamethrower at the same moment that Dragonite used Thunder. 

Theoh screamed and fell to his knees. I stumbled towards him and kicked him in the face as hard as I could. He flipped backwards and hit the dirt. Blood gushed from my side. 

Blue light pooled, ice gathered in Theoh’s palm. Ninetales leapt on top of him, grabbed his wrist and shook it. Theoh thrashed, but his fingers opened and the spear fell to the ground. 

I bent down over him, pulled him up by his shirt, and punched him in the face. I felt something in my hand snap but I hit him again anyway, and then let him fall and hit him with my left hand the next time, and the time after that, until my knuckles were raw and his face was covered in blood and feathers and drool.

I sat back, left hand searching for the bite of frost. 

“We will see a new world,” he gasped.“There’s nothing left here. Why do you fight it?”

“Because I love her,” I said.

I raised my hand and plunged the jagged spear into his chest. He screamed, his back arched towards the icy clouds, hands scrabbling at mine. And then he slumped, eyes wide, to the earth. Human. 

I let go of the spike of ice and sat back. Wiped my lip with numb and shaking hands. Looked at the sky; looked at Julietta, high above me, her arms raised before the burning sun.

“It’s too late,” came Theoh’s weak voice. “She knows that I am here. She has two of the three already. I have done my part.The ones who come after us will thank me.”

Blue wings, tattered and misshapen, unfurled beneath his back. He left the earth, broken and bloodied, and rose into the sky. I had no strength to stop him. No desire. My pokemon ignored him and crouched over me. Ninetales licked one of the gashes beneath my ribs. Dragonite turned her head to the sky and crooned as we watched the body grow smaller and smaller.

Far above us, Theoh reached Julietta. The wind stopped. The sky grew still. He disappeared. She raised her arms. A purple sphere grew between her hands, and the storm returned in force. 

The earth rumbled, and stones began to rise from the ground. The sky grew darker and darker; Julietta was the only point of light, golden and majestic, the sphere above her howling with energy.

“Enough,” I said to no one, and pressed the wounds on my side. “Enough, Julietta.” I stumbled upright. Ninetales caught me, and I leaned on him with my unbroken hand. I took a step forward to steady myself; spat up something thick and coppery.

“Come down. Please. Come back to me.”

The wind tore my words from me, cast them aside. The sphere grew and grew, larger than the sun, until the world was black and purple and wailing.

I slipped from Ninetals, fell to one knee, and coughed again. It hurt. My shirt was wet, both hands slick. My vision blurred.I leaned back against one of the mounds of earth, looked up at the sky. I closed my eyes. Would it be so bad to let it end? To let the pain stop?

A shout came from the portal.

“Niall, you okay?”

“Fine,” I said, not moving. 

Rob carried Seth over one shoulder at a jog, blood smearing his face. Haji trailed behind them with tears in his eyes. Both stared at the sky.

Rob lay Seth flat on the grand across from me. “What’s that?” he tried to point a finger at the sky, but gave up.

“Julietta,” I said, and coughed. I spat blood, or tried to, but it leaked out of my mouth and I wiped a red smear off my chin with a tired hand.

“Ah. She’s a god, now?”

“There are no gods, Seth. Never have been. There’s only power.”

“Deep.” He coughed, too, and blood welled up from his mouth.

“Seth, shut up,” said Rob. “Haji, keep pressure on that.”He stood and looked at me. “Fuck. You too?”

“Just a scratch, really.”

“Let me see, Niall.”

“Doesn’t even hurt.”

“Let me see. Mother of...” He tore his shirt off, wadded it into a ball, pressed it against the holes in my side.

“Don’t bother. I don’t think they’re bleeding anymore.” I spat again. I wondered how much blood I had left to spew over the purple-cast ground.

“Haji! I need more cloth!”

“What happened out there?” I said.

“Lotta bodies,” said Rob. “Most of the Jennies killed themselves. It’s crazy, but I think they’re fighting it. Whatever it is - whatever Theoh did.”

“The pokemon?”

“None dead.” He wrapped a strip of fabric around my side. I groaned, and kept talking to distract myself.

“What happened to Seth?”

“Saved Haji from a Bisharp. Stupid. Got cut up pretty bad.”

“He’s an okay guy, huh?”

“Quiet, now.”

“I have to get up there, Rob. I have to get to her.”

“You can’t move like this.” More pressure on my side. 

“Gonna have to, Rob. Got things to do.”

“You’re serious.”

Ninetales licked my hand. I reached up and scratched him behind the ears.

“Sorry, buddy. You’re staying here this time.” Ninetales whined, tucked his head into my armpit. 

“Hey, Seth?”

“Hey.”

“I gotta go now, but it’s been fun.”

“Yeah. Say hi to Julietta for me.”

“Sure. Hey, Seth? Thanks. Seth?”

Haji stood, wiped his eyes, shook his head. 

“Sorry, Haj. You probably should have stayed at home.”

He shook his head again. “Once a Lad, Boss. Is that really Sis up there?”

“I’m gonna find out.One last ride, Dragonite?” She purred, and I patted her foot.

“Give me a hand, Rob.”

He paused, then reached down and helped me up. I doubled over, then braced myself against Ninetales and Dragonite. 

“This is insane,” he said.

“This is necessary.”

With Rob and Haji’s help, I rolled onto Dragonite’s back.

“How’re you going to hang on, Boss?” Haji’s voice cracked, came out thick.

“I’ll manage. You two should probably get away from here. Take the pokemon, too. Oh, and if Cadney is out there, make up with her, will you? There might be time enough for that, at least.”

Rob nodded, not speaking. 

I turned away. “I wonder if I’ll miss you, when this is done.”

“Niall-”

I shot him a half-smile. “Let’s go, Dragonite.”

She crouched. We rocketed towards the shattered heavens. Ninetales howled, and a stream of fire disappeared in our wake.

We circled higher and higher, Dragonite beating her wings against the headwind. Gusts buffeted us. Below us, I heard a piercing cry. I looked down, and Braviary wheeled up next to my face. We locked eyes, and he waggled his wings. Dragonite did the same, and I lifted a broken hand. He tucked his shoulders back and dove away, leaving us alone in the vortex.

Breathing hurt. I could feel my life leaking out from the holes in my sides. I held on to Dragonite with one hand and we rose and rose and rose until the Shrine faded into shadow. Julietta, winged, ascendant, waited for us.

I screamed her name, and it turned into a wracking cough. I slumped, almost fell. Dragonite circled her, struggling to stay aloft. Whatever she had summoned was completed, now. A star of purple energy, crackling and screaming; the end of life, the end of everything. 

“Stop this! You have to stop this!”

She turned to me, looked down on us with empty eyes. I saw no trace of my friend.

“Please” It came out as a whisper, and only Dragonite heard. 

But she ignored me, returned to her howling, furious sun.

“We have to try to stop her.”

I’m sorry, I thought, and a glow appeared in Dragonite’s mouth. The blinding light of her hyper beam burned towards Julietta. Purple flashed, and darkness fell. Silence.

I saw Julietta’s face before my own. I reached out a hand, touched her cheek. She smiled. I smiled back at her. Her pale arms pulled me to her, and together we began to ascend.

Come, said her voice. Rest.

Rest, my body screamed. I felt it failing, felt myself dying. Rest. I deserved it. I had crossed continents, crossed oceans.Would it be so terrible to end it, here with her?

Come.

Continents. Oceans. Miles of sand and ice and rock. With her. For her.

Not yet, I thought. Not yet.

Is this not what you wanted? To be together?

Not like this.

She changed. Her eyes blinked, looked down at me again.

Niall? You came, she said.

Of course I came.

I thought that I could end things this way. Thought that I could save you.

You can. You can come back to me, to all of us.

No. There are too many...pieces. You only know one of them, and she is buried.

She’s the piece I came for.

Julietta’s face quivered, disappeared again, replaced by the inhuman eyes of the thing she had, somehow, always been.

You had your chance, I thought. You could have stopped her. Told her what you felt. What you feared. 

I didn’t want to lose you, I told the darkness.

Too late, I thought. It’s too late for that. 

I was afraid that things would change, I said.

Things are always changing. They break and then they are fixed. 

We can fix it, I said.

The darkness around us writhed. I will fix it, it spat. They knew this, the first time they called me. They asked me. They birthed me. To end the wars. To undo what they had done. The cost is the same, and the second rebuilding will be stronger still.

I thought of my mother; of her rampages, her cursing, her hatred and her bitterness. My own future lay there, maybe, buried in anger and drink. In a life without purpose, drifting from city to city, looking for work. 

I thought of two young girls whose names no one could remember. I thought of a thousand bodies floating in the ocean, of Aurea, alone and dead and unmourned.

I thought of Ninetales, of Dragonite, of Rapidash. I thought of nights spent wet and soaked under rainclouds, of dinners out of a can. I thought of Haji’s stupid smile, of Seth’s shit-eating smirk. I thought of Rob. I thought of Julietta, of the stars above the ocean, of laughter and champagne, of hung-over mornings in crummy hotels.

You would go back, despite everything? You would drag her back with you?

I am not finished. Life is waiting. She is waiting.

She is dead.

She is alive. I am alive. I want to live.

I want to live.

I want to live.

I want to live. 

I love you. I loved you long before when we crossed the mountains together, before you stumbled into my hotel room and stole my bed. I loved you when your eyes lit up beneath the moon, loved you when yours was the first face I saw on the beach. I have loved you from the moment we met. I loved you when you left me.

The darkness shrieked, a wail that came from inside of me and inside of Julietta and inside of everything.

I fell away, into the black that grabbed and clawed at me, roared towards ground that never came.

A hand pressed against the bloody gashes in my side, on my aching shoulder, my shattered ribs, my broken hand.

I felt earth beneath my back.

Julietta leaned over me. I reached a hand up, felt her hair. She smiled down at me; the same smile I had seen and loved since the day she decided to tag along with a pair of lazy, cynical drunks.

“Am I alive?”

“Do you feel alive?”

I touched my side, found no trace of the wounds that Theoh’s dagger had left.

“I think so. I’d like to be.”

“Then you are.”

“Brad’s dead. Theoh’s dead. Zapdos is dead. The Three are gone.”

“Yes. The balance is destroyed.”

“What do we do about that?”

“The same thing we did before there were birds.”

“Hey, Jules?”

“Yes?”

“Did you hear all that, up there? Wherever we were? Everything I was thinking?”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

“You’re an interesting person, Niall Afallon.”

“You’re not exactly simple yourself.”

“Is anyone?”

“I doubt it. Rob, maybe.”

She almost laughed.

“He’s alive,” I said. “He’ll be happy to see you. So is that idiot kid who worships you. Cadney too.” I paused. “Seth isn’t.” I raised my head up and looked around. “Where are they?”

“They’re waiting for you.”

“Waiting?”

“Jules?”

A small, pointed face appeared. Purple and feline, it stared at me for a long moment through wide, unblinking, unfeeling eyes.And then it disappeared, back into the darkness that was all of Julietta.

She is waiting, too.

I opened my eyes.

“Holy shit, you’re alive!” Rob’s face peered down at me. My hand went to my side. Smooth skin. I lurched upright. Ninetales barked, Dragonite chirped.

“Rob, where is she?”

He put a hand on my chest and pushed me back down. “You just fell half a mile out of the sky. Be happy you’re breathing.”

“It doesn’t matter if she’s not here. Where is she, Rob?”

“Julietta?”

“Rob, am I alive?”

“What are you talking about? What happened up there?”

“Did she come down with me? Rob! Is she here?”

“Julietta?” He shook his head. “That thing is gone, though. Look.”

There was no sign of the purple star, of the storm that had raged around us. There was no sign of Julietta.

“There!” Haji stood, pointed to the sky. A body whistled through the air, and as we watched it slammed into the earth two hundred yards from where we sat.

Rob’s eyes went wide, and I struggled to rise.

“Don’t try to move yet,” he said. “Did you not hear what I just told you? We’ll check.”

I brushed him off and got to my feet, sprinting towards where she had fallen.I knew it was her, knew it somewhere deep and painful inside my chest, and I ran towards her with a need and an urgency I had never felt before. Rob and Haji came behind me, shouting, and Ninetales paced me as we stumbled over the terraced, muddy earth.

Julietta lay on the ground, unmoving, her limbs splayed out beside her at grotesque angles. The grass waved in the breeze, and the sun shone down as it always had. It was as though nothing had happened, as if the sky had swallowed even the memory of calamity.

“Jules! Jules?” I dropped to my knees at her side, afraid to touch her but too desperate not to. I lifted her head as gently as I could manage.

Blood coated her lips, blossomed up from her mouth. Her eyelids flickered.

“Rob. Rob, help me.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“She’s dying,” I said. 

“No,” said Haji. “Not Sis, too.”

I bent over her face, touched my forehead to hers. 

“Jules. I’m alive. I’m here. I’m waiting. You saved us. Come back, now. Come back to me.”

She shook, and tears leaked from her eyes. Haji sobbed, and Rob stared at me, his eyes wild.

“Come back,” I said again.“Dammit, Rob. Bring her back!”

“There’s nothing I can do. All the damage is on the inside.”

“This isn’t fair. You saved me. You saved us all. I don’t want to…I can’t do this alone.”

Her body spasmed again, frail and human in my hands. I clutched her shoulders, buried my face into her neck, smelled the fire burning out of her.

“There’s no point if you aren’t with me. Do you hear me, Julietta? I don’t care what you are! I love you!”

***

The world stops. The only sound is the rustle of the grass, the pounding of my heart, Julietta’s shallow breath. It slows. Stops. She settles to the ground. Her face is calm. I crumple.

Rob’s hand is on my shoulder. I can’t breathe. I curl around my chest, gasping for air. 

“Niall.”

His voice comes from a place that no longer exists.

“Niall, look.”

Through blurry vision, I see Julietta, glowing softly in the light of day. She shines blue and red and golden and as her chest begins to lift from the ground, the earth trembles.

She shudders, and she inhales. 

Julietta looks up at me. She is pale. She is old and tired. She has crossed to a place that I will never know. But she has not left me, not yet. 

“No Sisters. No Birds. No gods,” she says. Her lip quivers. I wipe a tear from beneath her eye with a shaking hand, leave a smudge of dirt across her cheek..

“We built our own gods. Filled a hole. Now we’ll have to live without them. We’ll have to change things ourselves.”

A broken world waits for us. A world drowning in sorrow and anger and bitterness. A world that is full of hard and beautiful and terrible things. A world that is waiting to be fixed. Some day, I will fade to dust at her feet, and she will go on without me, as she must. As she always will. But until then, until our time ends, we will watch the stars turn, together.

And so, despite everything, I smile. She smiles back. The world collapses in upon us. Her lips taste of burning light and the blood-tang of the ocean.

Above us, the sky is clear and blue. The sun shines down, and together we breathe in the scent of fresh earth.

“A second chance,” I say.

“A third, even.”

“Someday we might run out of luck.”

“For now,” Julietta says.

I smile at her. “We’re alive.”


End file.
